Portfolio Cover, for Six Marines
1833
Medium
Bi-fold portfolio cover with lithograph image and text on brown wove paper
Dimensions
60.4 × 39 cm (23 13/16 × 15 3/8 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
15588
Art Historical Context
Eugène Isabey's *Portfolio Cover, for Six Marines* (1833) is a charming bi-fold lithograph on brown wove paper, designed to house a series of six marine-themed prints. Measuring 60.4 × 39 cm, this functional yet artistic object showcases Isabey's mastery of seaside subjects, for which he was renowned as a leading French Romantic artist. The cover likely features evocative imagery of ships and waves, inviting viewers into a world of nautical drama that captivated 19th-century audiences. Lithography, a revolutionary printing technique invented just decades earlier, allowed Isabey to capture the...
About the Artist
Eugène Isabey
Eugène Isabey (1803–1886) was a French painter and lithographer known for his dramatic seascapes, coastal scenes, and historical compositions. Born in Paris, he was the son of the celebrated miniaturist and portraitist Jean-Baptiste Isabey, who provided his early artistic training. The younger Isabey studied briefly with various masters but was largely shaped by his father's studio and by his own ...