The Colonist René de Laudonnière Sablais, after van de Passe

Art Historical Context

This 1861 print by Charles Meryon portrays René de Laudonnière, the French Huguenot explorer and colonist who led expeditions to Florida in the 1560s and established Fort Caroline. Created as an etching with drypoint and engraving, the work reproduces an earlier portrait by the Dutch printmaking family Crispijn de Passe the Elder and Younger. At just six by four-and-a-quarter inches, the intimate scale invites close examination of the sitter’s dignified features and period attire, connecting 19th-century viewers to the age of French exploration in the New World. Meryon, best known for his atmospheric views of Paris, here turns his precise etching technique to historical reproduction. The combination of etching, drypoint, and engraving allowed him to achieve fine tonal gradations and crisp lines that honor the original engraving while adding subtle depth and texture. Such prints helped preserve and circulate images of significant figures from the Age of Discovery long before photography became widespread. Acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art through the Rogers Fund in 1917, the work now resides in the Department of Drawings and Prints, where it exemplifies how 19th-century artists engaged with earlier masters to keep colonial-era history visually alive for new generations.

About the Artist

Charles Meryon|Crispijn de Passe the Elder|Crispijn de Passe the Younger · 1821–1868

Charles Meryon, born on November 23, 1821, in Paris, was the illegitimate son of English physician Dr. Charles Lewis Meryon and dancer Pierre-Narcisse Chaspoux (stage name Narcisse Gentil) at the Paris Opéra. His half-sister Fanny, from his mother's prior relationship with Viscount Lowther, remained in contact after their mother's death in 1838. Raised partly outside Paris before attending Pension...