Portrait of Charles Henri, Comte D'Estaing
1779
Medium
Etching and engraving; second state
Dimensions
Sheet: 9 9/16 × 6 7/16 in. (24.3 × 16.4 cm) Plate: 8 3/8 × 5 3/16 in. (21.3 × 13.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Charles Allen Munn, 1924
Accession Number
24.90.623
Tags
Art Historical Context
Created in 1779 by Jacques Barbié, this etching and engraving captures Charles Henri, Comte D'Estaing in a formal portrait that highlights his identity as a military figure. The second state of the print reveals the artist's careful refinements to the plate, demonstrating the meticulous process of adjusting lines and details typical of 18th-century printmaking. Measuring just over 9 by 6 inches, the intimate scale suits the medium's purpose of creating portable, reproducible images for wider circulation. The composition incorporates elements from the tags—soldiers, men, portraits, and ships—s...