Plate Design for E. Leveille
1886/89
Medium
Pen and black ink on cream wove card
Dimensions
35.4 × 27.8 cm (13 15/16 × 11 in.)
Classification
pen and ink drawings
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
205653
Art Historical Context
Ludovic Napoléon Lepic's *Plate Design for E. Leveille* (1886/89) is a delicate pen and black ink drawing on cream wove card, measuring 35.4 × 27.8 cm. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings department, this preparatory work reveals the artist's methodical approach to printmaking during the vibrant late 19th-century French art scene. Lepic, a skilled etcher and close friend of Edgar Degas, was part of the Impressionist circle known for pushing boundaries in graphic arts. This design likely served as a blueprint for an etching plate, demonstrating his precise line work—es...