Libre et Fidèle
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 11 in. × 7 3/8 in. (28 × 18.7 cm) Plate: 8 9/16 × 5 7/16 in. (21.8 × 13.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Katherine Ticknor Heintzelman, 1966
Accession Number
66.709.15
Tags
Art Historical Context
"Libre et Fidèle (*Free and Faithful*), an enchanting 1878 etching created collaboratively by art critic Philippe Burty and printmaker Félix Bracond, captures the delicate beauty of birds—a fitting subject for its poetic title evoking liberty and loyalty. Measuring just 11 by 7⅜ inches, this intimate print exemplifies the precision of etching, a technique where acid bites into a metal plate to create fine lines and rich textures ideal for rendering feathers and subtle avian expressions. In late 19th-century France, amid the etching revival and rising Japonisme influence, Bracquemond stood as ...