Lithography Lesson
Medium
Lithograph on off-white wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 21.8 × 32.2 cm (8 5/8 × 12 11/16 in.); Sheet: 27.1 × 36.5 cm (10 11/16 × 14 3/8 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
41768
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The painter and printmaker Dominique-Vivant Denon excelled in quick sketches of people and monuments. In 1798 he accompanied a French expedition to Egypt, documenting architectural settings for many of the artifacts Napoleon acquired. Back in France, Denon produced numerous lithographs in the same lively manner and hosted gatherings in which guests attempted to produce lithographs themselves. Here the group admires the skill of one of Denon’s female guests, possibly also his pupil. Unusually, sh...
About the Artist
Dominique-Vivant Denon · 1747–1825
Dominique-Vivant Denon (1747–1825) was a French artist, diplomat, archaeologist, and museum administrator who became the first director of the Musée du Louvre — a role that earned him the title of "the father of all museums." Born Baron Vivant de Non in Chalon-sur-Saône, Burgundy, he was educated for a career in diplomacy and served under Louis XV and Louis XVI as a gentleman of the court and as a...