Self-Portrait (with Cows)
Medium
Etching; seventh state of eight (Perez)
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed): 14 3/4 in. × 11 in. (37.4 × 27.9 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1967
Accession Number
67.798.3
Tags
About this artwork
This etching represents Jean Jacques de Boissieu's mature printmaking style and his practice of inserting himself into rural landscape settings. Dated to 1796, late in the artist's career, this self-portrait places Boissieu amid cattle, integrating portraiture with the pastoral subject matter he frequently depicted. The work is designated as the seventh state of eight according to Perez's catalogue raisonné, indicating the artist's careful refinement of the plate through multiple stages. Such pr...
Art Historical Context
In 1796, French etcher Jean Jacques de Boieu crafted this whimsical *Self-Portrait (withows)*, a seventh-state impression from a plate refined across eight meticulous stages. Working from his base in Lyon rather than the bustling Paris art scene, Boissieu in his career blended portraiture with pastoral landscapes, placing himself humbly among grazing cattle. This etching captures the Enlightenment-era celebration of rural virtue, evoking the simple textures and serene atmosphere of countryside life. Influenced by 17th-century Dutch masters, Boissieu's mature style shines through in his etchin...
About the Artist
Jean Jacques de Boissieu · 1736–1810
French, Lyons 1736–1810 Lyons