Monsieur Aristide Briand, Former Premier of France
1921
Medium
drypoint in black
Dimensions
plate: 30.48 × 25.4 cm (12 × 10 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Walter Tittle
Accession Number
1975.10.5
Art Historical Context
In the elegant drypoint etching *Monsieur Aristide Briand, Former Premier of France* (1921), American artist Walter Tittle captures the dignified likeness of one of France's most influential statesmen. Created on a plate measuring 12 × 10 inches, this black-ink print exemplifies Tittle's mastery of portraiture, blending sharp detail with subtle texture. Drypoint, an intaglio technique where the artist scratches directly into the metal plate, produces the characteristic soft, velvety burr lines that lend an intimate, almost tactile quality to the image—ideal for conveying Briand's thoughtful ga...
About the Artist
Walter Tittle
Walter Tittle was an American illustrator, portraitist, and printmaker who built a distinguished career in the early decades of the twentieth century, working across the overlapping worlds of magazine illustration, literary portraiture, and fine art printmaking. Born in Springfield, Ohio, he studied at the Art Students League of New York, an institution that provided rigorous training in drawing a...