Comare Giulia
1924
Medium
etching and engraving in black
Dimensions
plate: 10.8 × 10.48 cm (4 1/4 × 4 1/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.961
Art Historical Context
**Comare Giulia** is a delicate etching and engraving by British artist Robert Austin, created in 1924. Austin, a master printmaker associated with the early 20th-century revival fine engraving in Britain, captured intimate portraits and everyday scenes with remarkable precision. This small-scale work, measuring just 10.8 × 10.48 cm, exemplifies his skill in rendering subtle textures and expressions on an intimate scale, inviting viewers to lean in for a closer look. The medium—etching combined with engraving in black ink—highlights Austin's technical prowess. Etching allows for fluid, sponta...
About the Artist
Robert Austin
Robert Sargent Austin RA PPRWS PPRE (1895–1973) was a preeminent British engraver, draughtsman, illustrator, and painter, born in Leicester, England, where his prodigious talent emerged early—at just eight years old, he exhibited with the Royal Drawing Society.) He trained first at the Leicester Municipal School of Art from 1909 to 1913, then at the Royal College of Art from 1914–1916 and 1919–192...