Le Wagg-Poids de la Ville d'Amsterdam
1879
Medium
etching on chine collé
Dimensions
image: 14.8 × 24.2 cm (5 13/16 × 9 1/2 in.) plate: 20 × 28.2 cm (7 7/8 × 11 1/8 in.) sheet: 24.3 × 32.8 cm (9 9/16 × 12 15/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Bequest of Frank B. Bristow)
Accession Number
2015.143.123
Art Historical Context
Maxime Lalanne’s 1879 etching captures the weighbridge, or public scale, of Amsterdam, a functional civic structure that once stood as both architectural landmark and symbol of the city’s bustling trade. Created during a period when European artists turned renewed attention to urban scenes and everyday monuments, the print preserves the building’s distinctive Dutch design with careful attention to its proportions and surroundings. Lalanne executed the image as an etching on chine collé, a technique in which a delicate sheet of Chinese paper is bonded to a sturdier backing during printing. Thi...
About the Artist
Maxime Lalanne
François Antoine Maxime Lalanne (1827–1886) was born in Bordeaux into a family of civil servants, initially pursuing classical studies and a law career. At the Institution Oré, he learned drawing from instructor Saulnier and showed early promise, exhibiting pencil and pastel works at Bordeaux's Philomathique Society in 1850, where he earned a bronze medal. Encouraged by architect Léo Drouyn, Lalan...