Artwork
James Thompson
James Thompson is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Charles B. J. Févret de Saint-Mémin. It dates from 1801 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower center in plate: Drawn & engrd. by St. Memin Philadela.; lower center mount in black ink by unknown hand: Capitaine Thompson.
About this work
Overview
The resulting print captures the neoclassical aesthetic favored during the period, emphasizing clarity and idealized form.
Created in 1801, this work is a mezzotint and engraving portrait of James Thompson by the French artist Charles B. J. Févret de Saint-Mémin. Executed in black ink on wove paper and mounted to a brown wove backing, the image presents a small-scale bust-length likeness of the sitter enclosed within a circular frame. Saint-Mémin, who fled the French Revolution to the United States, developed a distinctive technique for producing rapid, accurate likenesses using a physiognotrace, a device that traced the sitter's profile to create a precise outline.
This mechanical aid allowed him to render the subject's features with remarkable fidelity despite the miniature format. The artist then translated the traced profile into a copper plate, employing mezzotint and engraving to model the tonal values and textures of the face and clothing. The resulting print captures the neoclassical aesthetic favored during the period, emphasizing clarity and idealized form.
This piece exemplifies Saint-Mémin's prolific output during his American residency, where he produced hundreds of such portraits for a diverse clientele, establishing a unique visual record of early American society through his hybrid method of mechanical tracing and manual intaglio printmaking.
Technique & Style
The image combines the tonal richness of mezzotint with the line precision of engraving, both applied to a metal plate before being transferred to black ink on wove paper. This hybrid method allows for fine detail within a compact format, rendering the sitter’s features with notable clarity despite the miniature scale.
Subject & Meaning
The print depicts James Thompson, presented in a tight, circular frame that focuses attention on his likeness. While no narrative context is provided, the intimate scale and careful rendering suggest a personal or commemorative purpose, typical of early‑19th‑century portrait prints.
History & Provenance
The piece entered the Corcoran Collection, where it remains catalogued as part of that institution’s holdings. Its acquisition date is not recorded in the available data, but it has been identified as a work by Saint‑Mémin dating to the early 1800s.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Charles B. J. Févret de Saint-Mémin
Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin (French pronunciation: ; 1770–1852) was a French portrait painter and museum director.
