Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin
1800
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Margaret Polk is a 1800 ink by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This black-and-white print shows a woman with soft curls, her dark dress and white collar sharply lit against a plain background. The artist used fine lines to shade her face and hands, calling attention to her calm expression. Mezzotint, a printing method that makes rich blacks and smooth tones, explains why her skin looks almost three-dimensional. Saint-Mémin spent years in America making portraits like this of early 1800s leaders and citizens. The technique was new in the U.S., so each print feels both careful and rare. Look up Saint-Mémin, Charles B. J. Févret de.
Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin (French pronunciation: ; 1770–1852) was a French portrait painter and museum director.
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