Mary Ann Walker Bell
Medium
mezzotint and engraving in black on wove paper mounted to brown wove paper
Dimensions
image (irregular): 5.56 × 5.56 cm (2 3/16 × 2 3/16 in.) sheet (trimmed to plate): 6.83 × 6.19 cm (2 11/16 × 2 7/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Gift of William Wilson Corcoran)
Accession Number
2015.19.1584.43.9
Art Historical Context
Behold *Mary Ann Walker Bell* (1808), a delicate portrait print by Charles B. J. Févret de Saint-Mémin, a Frenchaver who brought European finesse to early American portraiture after emigrating in the 1790s. Capturing the poised likeness of its namesake—a woman of likely elite standing—this intimate image measures just over 2 inches square, evoking the treasured miniature portraits exchanged among 19th-century families and friends. Saint-Mémin pioneered a unique process blending physiognotrace (a mechanical tracing device) with mezzotint and engraving, techniques that yield velvety tones and p...
About the Artist
Charles B. J. Févret de Saint-Mémin
**Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin** Born on March 12, 1770, in Dijon, France, to marquis Bénigne-Charles Févret de Saint-Mémin, a former conseiller au Parlement de Bourgogne, and Victoire-Marie de Motmans, a creole from Port-au-Prince, Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin received a military education at the École Militaire in Paris, graduating in 1785. He served as a cad...