Engel met drie putti in wolken

About this artwork

verzamelaarsmerk, verso, gestempeld: Lugt 975

Art Historical Context

"Engel met drie putti in wolken" (Angel with Three Putti in Clouds) is a delicate etching by Gilles Demarteau, a prominent 18th-century engraver active between 1732 and 1776. Demarteau, working primarily in Paris, was renowned for his reproductive prints that captured the elegance of Rococo painting, often after masters like François Boucher. This work exemplifies his skill in translating soft, ethereal forms into the crisp lines of etching—a technique where acid etches designs into a metal plate, allowing for intricate details and tonal subtlety ideal for heavenly scenes. The composition fea...

About the Artist

Gilles Demarteau · 1729–1776

Gilles Demarteau the Elder, born on January 19, 1722, in Liège, began his career steeped in the craft of metalwork. The son of a gunsmith, he learned engraving and goldsmithing from his father before moving to Paris around 1748–1750 to join his brother, who worked as a goldsmith for the engraver De Lacollombe, renowned for firearm ornament designs. Demarteau trained in De Lacollombe's workshop as ...