Corner of State and Washington Streets, Chicago, in the Year 1865

Art Historical Context

This evocative aquatint and captures a bustling intersection at State and Washington Streets in Chicago during 1865, a pivotal year just after the Civil War when the city was rapidly expanding as a commercial hub. Created by artist Raoul Varin and published in 1928—decades after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed much of the original wooden architecture—the print offers a nostalgic glimpse into the pre-fire era, with horse-drawn carriages, pedestrians in period attire, and early storefronts lining the dirt streets. It serves as a visual record of urban life before the city’s dramatic transformation into a modern metropolis of steel and skyscrapers. Varin employed the aquat technique alongside etching to achieve rich tonal effects and fine details, then enhanced the brown-inked plate with delicate hand-coloring on cream wove paper. This labor-intensive process allowed for both precision in architectural lines and a painterly warmth in the sky and figures, bridging the gap between printmaking and watercolor traditions. Measuring over 14 by 21 inches in the image area, the work rewards close viewing of its lively street scene. As part of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Prints and Drawings collection, this piece highlights how early 20th-century artists revisited America’s 19th-century past to preserve collective memory. Its combination of historical subject and refined printmaking underscores the cultural value of documenting cities in transition.

About the Artist

Raoul Varin · 1865–1943

**Raoul Varin (1865–1943) was a French engraver renowned for his meticulously detailed aquatint prints that reconstructed historical views of American cities, particularly Chicago and New York.** He exhibited at the Salon of French Artists and earned an honorable mention there in 1892. Varin specialized in signed, limited-edition aquatints, often enhanced with hand-coloring and etching, which he ...