Plate of Sketches, no. 2
Medium
Drypoint from a zinc plate printed à la poupée in black and red-brown on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/plate: 23.1 × 15.1 cm (9 1/8 × 6 in.); Sheet: 42.1 × 30.8 cm (16 5/8 × 12 3/16 in.)
Classification
drypoint
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
49626
Art Historical Context
Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen’s “Plate of Sketches, no. 2” captures the lively spirit of late-nineteenth-century Paris. Created in 1898, the work reflects Steinlen’s dual career as a commercial illustrator and fine printmaker. Active in Montmartre’s artistic circles, he often produced quick, observational drawings that later found their way into posters, magazines, and limited-edition prints, bridging popular culture and the emerging Art Nouveau aesthetic. The print demonstrates the expressive possibilities of drypoint on zinc. Steinlen incised the plate directly, allowing the raised metal bur...
About the Artist
Théophile-Alexandre Pierre Steinlen · 1859–1923
Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, born on November 10, 1859, in Lausanne, Switzerland, grew up in an environment steeped in artistic influence, with his grandfather serving as a drawing teacher in nearby Vevey. He studied literature at the University of Lausanne before working as a designer trainee in a Mulhouse textile mill. In his early twenties, around 1881, Steinlen married Émilie Mey, and the cou...