Portrait of Gluck
Medium
Etching and engraving; third state of three (Bocher)
Dimensions
Sheet: 9 1/16 × 6 1/8 in. (23 × 15.6 cm) Plate: 7 1/4 × 4 15/16 in. (18.4 × 12.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
Accession Number
17.3.756–1473
Tags
Art Historical Context
This 1781 etching and engraving by Augustin de Saint-Aubin captures the celebrated composer Christoph Willibald Gluck, whose operas had recently taken Paris by storm. Created during the height of the Enlightenment, the portrait reflects the era’s fascination with cultural celebrities and the growing demand for affordable images of notable figures. Saint-Aubin, a skilled French printmaker active in the late eighteenth century, specialized in such intimate yet dignified likenesses that circulated widely among collectors and music enthusiasts. The work’s medium—etching combined with engraving—al...
About the Artist
Augustin de Saint-Aubin · 1736–1807
Comment on works: Illustrator; Engraver