Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin
1797
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
John Ferguson is a 1797 ink by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This engraving shows John Ferguson as a serious man in a dark coat against a plain background. His face is lit just enough to highlight his fine features and calm gaze. The artist used cross-hatching, a method of shading with fine lines, to create soft shadows and smooth skin tones. Mezzotint was a rare skill in early America. Saint-Mémin learned it in Europe before returning to the U.S. to make portraits like this one. This style of print reminds me of Saint-Mémin’s other work.
Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin (French pronunciation: ; 1770–1852) was a French portrait painter and museum director.
See the richer artist page
