Patience d'eau, étude (Study of a Patience-Dock)
1840
Medium
etching, engraving, and roulette on chine collé
Dimensions
plate: 20.2 x 28.5 cm (7 15/16 x 11 1/4 in.) sheet: 22.2 x 30.5 cm (8 3/4 x 12 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Ruth Fine and Larry Day in memory of George Parides
Accession Number
1997.54.1
Art Historical Context
Eugène Bléry *Patience d'eau, (Study of a Patienceock)*, created in 1840, the delicate intricacies of the patience-dock plant—a leafy aquatic herb prized for its medicinal uses in 19th-century Europe. As a skilled French printmaker associated with the Romantic landscape tradition, Bléry excelled in rendering nature's subtle textures, bridging artistic observation with scientific precision. This study reflects the era's growing fascination with botany, where detailed plant depictions served both aesthetic delight and scholarly documentation. Crafted through etching, engraving, and roulette on ...
About the Artist
Eugène Bléry
Eugène Bléry (1805–1887) was a French engraver and etcher whose refined printmaking brought him considerable recognition among connoisseurs of the graphic arts during the nineteenth century. He trained in Paris and developed a particular affinity for landscape subjects rendered through the demanding medium of etching, where his technical precision and sensitivity to natural light set his work apar...