J. B. Loir
Medium
mezzotint and engraving in black on wove paper mounted to brown wove paper
Dimensions
image (irregular): 5.56 × 5.56 cm (2 3/16 × 2 3/16 in.) sheet (trimmed to plate): 6.83 × 6.19 cm (2 11/16 × 2 7/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Gift of William Wilson Corcoran)
Accession Number
2015.19.1584.14.13
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
In 1800, French artist Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mé created *J. B. Loir*, a delicate profile portrait print capturing the likeness of its namesake subject. Saint-Mémin, who fled the French Revolution and settled in America, became renowned for his, small-scale engravings of prominent figures from politics, society, and the arts This intimate work, measuring just over 2 inches square, exemplifies his style—elegant silhouettes that offered affordable, reproducible likenesses in an era before photography. Crafted in mezzotint and engraving on wove paper, then mounted on brown wove support, the print showcases sophisticated techniques for tonal depth and fine detail. Mezzotint, with its velvety blacks achieved by rocking a serrated tool across the plate, allowed Saint-Mémin to evoke texture and shadow in miniature, blending the richness of painting with printmaking's accessibility. These methods made his portraits highly collectible, bridging European engraving traditions with emerging American visual culture. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's Corcoran Collection, *J. B. Loir* reflects the early 19th-century fascination with personal identity amid national growth. Saint-Mémin's series preserves a vivid gallery of the young republic's elite, offering visitors a window into a pivotal moment when portraiture democratized fame.
About the Artist
Charles B. J. Févret de Saint-Mémin · 1770–1852
**Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin** Born on March 12, 1770, in Dijon, France, to marquis Bénigne-Charles Févret de Saint-Mémin, a former conseiller au Parlement de Bourgogne, and Victoire-Marie de Motmans, a creole from Port-au-Prince, Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin received a military education at the École Militaire in Paris, graduating in 1785. He served as a cad...