Roddey
Medium
mezzotint and engraving in black on wove paper mounted to brown wove paper
Dimensions
image (irregular): 5.72 × 5.72 cm (2 1/4 × 2 1/4 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
2015.19.1584.48.9
Art Historical Context
In the early 19th century,-born artist Charles B. J Févret de Saintémin revolutionized portraiture in America with his innovative profile prints. *Roddey*, created around 1810, exemplifies his signature style: a precise, small-scale engraving capturing the sitter's silhouette in striking black mezzotint. Measuring just5.72 × 5.72 cm, this intimate image was part of Saint-Mémin's popular series, produced using a mechanical tracing device called the physiognotrace, which allowed for accurate profiles that could be etched and printed in multiples. The medium—mezzotint combined with engraving on ...
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...