Ruined Buildings near a River Bank, plate 9 from Quatrieme suite de paysages dessinés et grave a l’eau-forte par Moreau (Fourth Series of Landscapes Drawn and Etched by Moreau)
c. 1779
Medium
Etching in black on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Plate: 12.1 × 16.5 cm (4 13/16 × 6 1/2 in.); Sheet: 20.7 × 25.7 cm (8 3/16 × 10 1/8 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
129536
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Many artists saw etching as a counterpart to drawing that would allow them to strengthen their draftsmanship. To create an etching, a metal plate is covered with wax. The artist draws through the wax with a sharp metal tool to expose the plate before submerging it in acid, which removes the metal. The artist then fills the recessed lines with ink and transfers the image to paper. Because the etching process is more involved than drawing directly on paper, it forces artists to slow down and embr...
About the Artist
Louis Gabriel Moreau · 1740–1806
Comment on works: Landscapes; Views of parkland; Ruins; Views of Paris; Ceremonial scenes