François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers
Medium
color etching, wash manner, and aquatint on wove paper
Dimensions
image: 43.1 × 32 cm (16 15/16 × 12 5/8 in.) sheet (trimmed within platemark): 49.9 × 36.5 cm (19 5/8 × 14 3/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mrs. W. Murray Crane
Accession Number
1955.4.8
Art Historical Context
This striking color print from 1798 portrays François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers, a celebrated French general of the Revolutionary Wars who died heroically at age 27 in 1796. Created by Antoine-François Sergent, a prominent engraver known for his revolutionary-era portraits, the work captures Marceau's valor and youthful idealism, reflecting the era's fervor for military heroes amid France's turbulent transformation. Sergent masterfully employed advanced printmaking techniques—color etching, wash manner, and aquatint on wove paper—to achieve rich tonal gradients and painterly effects reminis...