Christina Livingston Macomb
Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin
1797
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin
1797
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
You see a woman in profile with tight curly hair and a fancy headpiece. Her hair sits close to her head, not loose or wild. The artist used a smooth, velvety dark ink that makes her pale skin and lace stand out sharp. This style belongs to Saint-Mémin, a French artist who moved to America. He traveled from town to town painting portraits of rich families like hers. His work looks calm and steady, not flashy or rushed. His technique was an engraving called mezzotint, where he scratched a metal plate to create soft shadows.
