Étiennette-Charlotte-Adélaïde Févret de Saint-Mémin
1799-1800
Medium
mezzotint and engraving in black on wove paper mounted to brown wove paper
Dimensions
image (irregular): 6.83 × 3.18 cm (2 11/16 × 1 1/4 in.) sheet (trimmed to plate): 6.99 × 6.51 cm (2 3/4 × 2 9/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Gift of William Wilson Corcoran)
Accession Number
2015.19.1584.50.2
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
This intimate portrait by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin depicts Étiennette-Charlotte-Adélaïde Févret de Saint-Mémin, likely the artist’s wife or close relative. Created between 1799 and 1800, the work belongs to the period when the French émigré artist, fleeing the Revolution, established a thriving portrait practice in the United States. Using a mechanical device called a physiognotrace, Saint-Mémin produced precise profile outlines that he then translated into delicate prints, offering sitters an affordable yet refined keepsake. The print’s small scale—just under three inches high—reflects the popularity of these miniature engravings as personal mementos. Executed in mezzotint and engraving on wove paper, the technique allows for rich tonal gradations and crisp detail within a tiny format. Such works circulated widely among early American families and notables, helping to document the faces of a young nation while sustaining the artist during his exile. Today the piece forms part of the National Gallery of Art’s Corcoran Collection, preserving both a tender family likeness and a fascinating chapter in the history of American printmaking.
About the Artist
Charles B. J. Févret de Saint-Mémin · 1770–1852
**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...