Composition with Antique Vases
Medium
etching, aquatint, and lift-ground aquatint printed in brown on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 21.8 × 29.1 cm (8 9/16 × 11 7/16 in.) sheet: 44 × 59.5 cm (17 5/16 × 23 7/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund
Accession Number
2018.91.38
Art Historical Context
**Composition with Antique Vases**1782) is a captivating print by French artist Jean-Jacques Lagrenée II (9–1804), a master of Rococo elegance who bridged into Neoclassicism. Created through etching, aquatint and innovative lift-ground aquatint, then printed in warm brown ink on laid paper, this measures a modest plate size of 21.8 × 29.1 cm. Housed in the National Gallery Art's print collection, it exemplifies the refined printmaking of late 18th-century France where artists like Lagrenée drew inspiration from classical antiquity amid the Enlightenment's revival of ancient forms. The composi...