Gobelins Quarter (Le quartier des Gobelins)
1893
Medium
etching with aquatint
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.5581
Art Historical Context
Auguste Lepère's *Gobelins Quarter (Le quartier Gobelins)*, in 1893, a slice of everyday Parisian life in the vibrant neighborhood surrounding the historic Gobelins tapestry manufactory. This iconic district in Paris's 13th arrondissement, home to the royal workshop established in the 17th century, buzzes with workers, architecture, and urban energy during the Belle Époque—a time of rapid modernization and artistic flourishing. Lepère, a French printmaker renowned for his detailed urban scenes, invites viewers into this lively tableau, evoking the neighborhood's enduring cultural legacy tied t...
About the Artist
Auguste Lepère · 1849–1918
Auguste-Louis Lepère (1849–1918), son of the sculptor François Lepère, was born in Paris on November 30, 1849, into an artistic family that shaped his early path. At age thirteen, he apprenticed in the Paris studio of the English wood engraver Joseph Burn Smeeton, honing his skills in wood engraving until 1867. He furthered his training with drawing classes under Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran at the...