Un Vieux Quartier de Vitré (Ille-et-Vilaine)
1879
Medium
etching on laid paper
Dimensions
image: 16.6 × 25 cm (6 9/16 × 9 13/16 in.) plate: 19.4 × 27.7 cm (7 5/8 × 10 7/8 in.) sheet: 36 × 52.5 cm (14 3/16 × 20 11/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Carol and James Goodfriend
Accession Number
2021.113.50
Art Historical Context
Maxime Lalanne’s 1879 etching *Un Vieux Quart de Vitré (Ille-et-Vilaine)* invites viewers into the narrow, time-worn streets a historic Breton town. Working in the late nineteenth century Lalanne specialized in capturing textures of aging stone and timber-framed houses, preserving the picturesque character of regional France just as modernization began to alter many such quarters. The print demonstrates the expressive possibilities of etching on laid paper. Fine, controlled lines and delicate tonal areas allow Lal to suggest weathered façades, uneven rooftops, and the quiet play of and shadow...
About the Artist
Maxime Lalanne
François Antoine Maxime Lalanne (1827–1886) was born in Bordeaux into a family of civil servants, initially pursuing classical studies and a law career. At the Institution Oré, he learned drawing from instructor Saulnier and showed early promise, exhibiting pencil and pastel works at Bordeaux's Philomathique Society in 1850, where he earned a bronze medal. Encouraged by architect Léo Drouyn, Lalan...