House with a Turret, rue de la Tixéranderie, Paris
ca. 1881–82
Medium
Etching on laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 9 1/2 x 5 3/16 in. (24.1 x 13.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1963
Accession Number
63.625.3
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
This evocative etching, House with a Turret, de la Tixérie, Paris, offers a glimpse of historic Parisian street life around 1881–82 Attributed to Charles Meryon and Edmond Gelin, it was created as an etching on laid paper, a printmaking process in which lines are incised into a metal plate and bitten with acid. This medium excels at capturing delicate textures, architectural details, and atmospheric depth, making it ideal for documenting the character of old buildings. Meryon, a leading 19th-century French etcher, was renowned for his meticulous views of Paris that often highlighted vanishing...
About the Artist
Charles Meryon|Edmond Gosselin · 1821–1868
Charles Meryon, born on November 23, 1821, in Paris, was the illegitimate son of English physician Dr. Charles Lewis Meryon and dancer Pierre-Narcisse Chaspoux (stage name Narcisse Gentil) at the Paris Opéra. His half-sister Fanny, from his mother's prior relationship with Viscount Lowther, remained in contact after their mother's death in 1838. Raised partly outside Paris before attending Pension...