Russell
Medium
mezzotint and engraving in black on wove paper mounted to brown wove paper
Dimensions
image (irregular): 5.56 × 5.56 cm (2 3/16 × 2 3/16 in.) sheet (trimmed to plate): 6.83 × 6.19 cm (2 11/16 × 2 7/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Gift of William Wilson Corcoran)
Accession Number
2015.19.1584.46.5
Art Historical Context
In the early 19th century, French-born artist Charles B. J Févret de Saintémin captured the likenesses of America's emerging elite through his innovative profile portraits. Created in 1809, *Russell* exemplifies his signature style: a precise, neoclassical silhouette likely depicting a prominent figure of the Federal era, rendered in a compact, intimate scale (just over 2 inches square). Saint-Mémin, who fled the French Revolution and settled in the United States, produced hundreds of such works, documenting notables from Philadelphia to New York during a time of national identity formation. ...
About the Artist
Charles B. J. Févret de Saint-Mémin
**Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin** Born on March 12, 1770, in Dijon, France, to marquis Bénigne-Charles Févret de Saint-Mémin, a former conseiller au Parlement de Bourgogne, and Victoire-Marie de Motmans, a creole from Port-au-Prince, Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin received a military education at the École Militaire in Paris, graduating in 1785. He served as a cad...