The Old Cock
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Overall: 11 x 9 13/16 in. (28 x 24.9 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1995
Accession Number
1995.107
Tags
Art Historical Context
Félix Bracquemond’s 188 etching *The Old Cock* captures the weathered dignity of its subject with remarkable precision. As a leading figure in the nineteenth-century revival of etching as a fine art, Bracquemond used the medium’s ability to render delicate lines and rich textures to convey the rooster’s ruffled feathers and alert posture. The modest size—just over eleven inches high—invites close viewing, allowing visitors to appreciate the subtle tonal variations achieved through careful biting of the plate. Created during a period when many artists turned to everyday rural subjects, this pr...
About the Artist
Félix Bracquemond · 1833–1914
French, Paris 1833–1914 Sèvres