Greek Medals, from "Gazette des Beaux-Arts"
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 8 3/8 in. × 11 in. (21.3 × 28 cm) Plate: 6 1/2 × 9 1/4 in. (16.5 × 23.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Louis R. Metcalfe, 1928
Accession Number
28.57.5
Art Historical Context
Created in 1863 by French etcher Jules-Ferdinand Jacquemart, *Greek Medals* appeared in the pages of *Gazette des Beaux-Arts*, one of the most influential art journals of the nineteenth century. This delicate etching captures the intricate reliefs and inscriptions of ancient Greek coins and medallions, allowing readers to study classical antiquity from their armchairs. Jacquemart specialized in reproductive prints that translated three-dimensional objects into fine black-and-white line, preserving both the texture of hammered metal and the dignity of the profiled figures. Etching proved espec...
About the Artist
Jules-Ferdinand Jacquemart|Gazette des Beaux-Arts · 1837–1880
**Jules-Ferdinand Jacquemart: Master Etcher and Watercolorist** Jules-Ferdinand Jacquemart was born on September 7, 1837, in Paris to Albert Jacquemart, a prominent art collector, ceramics historian, and amateur artist, and Louise Émilie Labbé. The third of four children, he received his initial training in etching from his father, who had no formal master himself and emphasized self-taught preci...