Portrait of François Viète
Charles Meryon
1861
Medium
Graphite and ink on ivory wove tissue laid down on ivory wove board
Dimensions
Primary support: 14.3 × 10.9 cm (5 11/16 × 4 5/16 in.); Secondary support: 14.7 × 11.3 cm (5 13/16 × 4 1/2 in.)
Classification
graphite
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
28847
About the Artist
Charles Meryon · 1821–1868
Charles Meryon, born on November 23, 1821, in Paris, was the illegitimate son of English physician Dr. Charles Lewis Meryon and dancer Pierre-Narcisse Chaspoux (stage name Narcisse Gentil) at the Paris Opéra. His half-sister Fanny, from his mother's prior relationship with Viscount Lowther, remained in contact after their mother's death in 1838. Raised partly outside Paris before attending Pension...