Tomb with Sphinxes and an Owl
1779–84
Medium
Etching and aquatint in brown on cream laid paper
Dimensions
33.8 × 48.6 cm (13 5/16 × 19 3/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
209884
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This invention of an imaginary Egyptian tomb by the French artist, architect, and stage designer Louis-Jean Desprez was one of a set of four aquatints on the theme that he designed while living in Rome. It combines a sense of theatrical drama with references to Egyptian antiquities, which enjoyed a vogue at the time. The print’s bizarre fantasy (made horrific by the exposed corpse in the open tomb), enhanced by dramatic contrasts of light and shadow, makes it a document of some importance among...
About the Artist
Louis Jean Desprez · 1743–1804
Louis Jean Desprez (1743–1804), born in Auxerre to a wig-maker father and widowed mother, began his artistic training as a twelve-year-old apprentice under engraver Charles-Nicolas Cochin in Paris in 1755. He later studied at the Académie royale d'architecture, sponsored by architect Pierre Desmaisons, and became a pupil of Charles de Wailly from 1768 to 1776, embracing neoclassicism inspired by I...