The Counterfeiters
1843
Medium
Drypoint
Dimensions
Sheet: 9 1/16 × 8 1/4 in. (23 × 21 cm) Plate: 7 1/2 × 7 1/16 in. (19 × 18 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1963
Accession Number
63.625.420
Tags
Art Historical Context
**The Counterfeiters** (1843) is a striking drypoint print by French artist Charles Jacque, capturing a tense scene of illicit activity. Jacque, a member of the Barbizon School known for his rustic landscapes and animal studies, here turns to a more dramatic narrative, depicting men huddled around bellows—likely stoking a forge to craft fake coins. Created during France's July Monarchy, a period of economic strain and social upheaval, the work subtly evokes the era's underbelly of crime and desperation, blending realism with a touch of moral intrigue. Drypoint, Jacque's chosen medium, showcas...
About the Artist
Charles Jacque
Charles-Émile Jacque (1813–1894) was a pioneering French painter, engraver, and illustrator whose career bridged the worlds of printmaking and pastoral painting. Born in Paris amid a difficult childhood, he apprenticed at age seventeen to a map engraver, mastering drypoint technique and producing his first etching in 1830—a copy of a head after Rembrandt. After serving seven years in the French Ar...