Portrait of Nicolas de Launay
Medium
Etching; second state of two (Bocher)
Dimensions
Sheet: 7 15/16 × 5 1/8 in. (20.1 × 13 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1979
Accession Number
1979.611.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
This intimate etching, created in 1802, portrays Nicolas de Launay in a refined profile view typical of early nineteenth-century French portraiture. Produced through the delicate process of etching, which allows for fine lines and subtle tonal variations, the work represents the second state of two, indicating the artist’s careful refinements to the plate. Measuring just under eight by five inches, the small scale invites close examination, highlighting the personal nature of such prints during the Napoleonic era. Augustin de Saint-Aubin, along with collaborators F. Huot and the sitter himsel...
About the Artist
Augustin de Saint-Aubin|F. Huot|Nicolas de Launay · 1736–1807
Comment on works: Illustrator; Engraver