Le Paysan de Gandelu (Portrait de l'abbé Pommyer)

Art Historical Context

**Le Paysan de GandeluPortrait de l'abbémyer)**, created around 1771 by Gilles Demarteau Charles Nicolas Cochin II captures the likeness of Abbé Pommyer in a charming, rustic guise as a "peasant of Gandelu." This French print from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection blends portraiture with playful characterization, reflecting the Enlightenment era's fascination with social types and human diversity. Cochin II, a leading Rococo engraver known for his elegant designs in books and theater, collaborated with Demarteau, a pioneer in innovative print techniques, to produce this intimate study of a cleric reimagined in humble attire. The artwork's medium—soft-ground etching printed in red ink—is a highlight of 18th-century technical virtuosity. Soft-ground etching, perfected by Demarteau, uses a softer acid-resistant ground that captures fine textures, like those of chalk drawings, allowing for subtle tonal gradations and a painterly quality. The sanguine red ink evokes traditional red-chalk portraits, adding warmth and immediacy. Measuring about 9 11/16 × 7 3/4 inches, this print made sophisticated portraiture accessible beyond paintings, democratizing art during a time of cultural flourishing in pre-Revolutionary France. As a testament to collaborative printmaking, it showcases how artists like Cochin and Demarteau elevated etching to rival drawing, offering museum visitors a window into the refined yet whimsical world of 1770s Paris.

About the Artist

Gilles Demarteau|Charles Nicolas Cochin II · 1729–1776

Gilles Demarteau the Elder, born on January 19, 1722, in Liège, began his career steeped in the craft of metalwork. The son of a gunsmith, he learned engraving and goldsmithing from his father before moving to Paris around 1748–1750 to join his brother, who worked as a goldsmith for the engraver De Lacollombe, renowned for firearm ornament designs. Demarteau trained in De Lacollombe's workshop as ...