Holy Family with Angels
Medium
Etching and aquatint, with stop out varnish and spit bite, on cream laid paper
Dimensions
18 × 12.4 cm (7 1/8 × 4 15/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
149522
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints Drawings collection, *Holy Family with Angels* by Jean-Jacques Lagren captures a tender moment from Christian iconography. Created by the French rococo artist (1730–1801), this intimate etching depicts the Virgin Mary, infant Christ, Saint Joseph, and attendant angels in a serene, devotional scene. Lagrenée, trained in the elegant rococo style, infused his works with graceful forms and soft lighting, reflecting the 18th-century French taste for refined religious imagery amid the opulence of the Ancien Régime. The print's technical brilliance shines through its innovative mixed media: etching for precise lines, aquatint for velvety tonal gradations, stop-out varnish to reserve highlights, and spit-bite acid for ethereal, organic edges. Printed on cream laid paper, this 18 × 12.4 cm gem (roughly postcard-sized) showcases printmaking's evolution, allowing artists like Lagrenée to mimic painting's depth affordably. These techniques democratized art, making devotional scenes accessible beyond oil canvases. A poignant reminder of faith's enduring role in art, this undated work invites visitors to ponder rococo's blend of piety and prettiness, bridging elite patronage with everyday devotion.
About the Artist
Jean-Jacques Lagrenée (French) · 1739 –1821
French, Paris 1739–1821 Paris