The Arrival of Monsieur de la Bourdonnais, plate 3 from Paul et Virginie
1795-97
Medium
Etching and engraving printed in yellow, blue, red, and black inks on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 37.5 × 41 cm (14 13/16 × 16 3/16 in.); Sheet, cut within platemark: 42 × 46.5 cm (16 9/16 × 18 5/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
28753
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
One of the most accomplished color printmakers of his era, Charles Melchior Descourtis produced a body of work that is small and relatively unknown. Descourtis learned his method of multiple-plate color printing from Jean Frarnçois Janinet and like him used toolwork on the plate rather than aquatint, an acid immersion process used to create general areas of shading. In this print, the governor of Mauritius, Monsieur Bourdonnais, has arrived for breakfast at the home of Paul and Virginie. He exc...