A Gorge de Loup
1801 to 1825
Medium
etching
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Accession Number
1975.34.9
Art Historical Context
Visitors to the National Gallery of Art are invited to explore *A Gorge de Loup a captivating etching by French artist Adolphe App, dated between 1801 and1825. Acquired through the Ailsa Mellon Fund and housed in the CG-E Department, this print exemplifies Appian's skill in capturing the rugged beauty of natural landscapes. The title, translating to "Wolf's Gorge evokes the wild, dramatic terrain of France's river valleys, rendered with intricate line work that draws the eye into shadowy depths and luminous highlights. Etching, Appian's favored medium, allowed for exquisite tonal variations a...
About the Artist
Adolphe Appian · 1818–1898
Adolphe Appian, born Jacques Barthélemy Adolphe Appian in Lyon, France, on August 28, 1819, began his artistic training at the age of fifteen at the École des Beaux-Arts de Lyon. There, he studied under the landscape painters Jean-Michel Grobon and Augustin Alexandre Thierrat, initially focusing on fabric decoration for the city's thriving silk industry. This practical grounding in drawing honed h...