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Image

RISDM 81-206.tif
  • RISDM 81-206.tif

Albert Besnard

Morphine Addicts (Morphinomanes)

Description

Maker

Albert Besnard (French, 1849-1934)

Title

Morphine Addicts (Morphinomanes)

Year

1887

Medium

  • Etching and drypoint on cream-colored,
  • smooth wove paper

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Etching and drypoint on cream-colored,
  • smooth wove paper

Materials

etching

Supports

  • Medium weight cream Oriental wove paper

Dimensions

Image/plate: 24 x 37.3 cm (9 7/16 x 14 11/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signed, in graphite, lr: "A. Besnard"; inscribed, in graphite, lc: T; inscribed, in graphite, lr: 14992; inscribed, on verso, in graphite, lc: No. 62 - Le Plumet LG 65; at ll, label: "ORIGINAL ETCHING" and French customs sticker

Identification

State

ii/ii

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Mary B. Jackson Fund

Object Number

81.206

Type

  • Prints

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Altered States
Etching in Late 19th-Century Paris
Jun 30, 2017 – Dec 03, 2017

Label copy

In this refined vision of drug use, two young women stare blankly at the viewer, surrounded by morphine paraphernalia. A highly addictive drug, morphine was so popular in late 19th-century Paris that one contemporary critic described it as “high-society alcoholism.” Besnard’s image was alternatively titled The Plume, referring both to the feather one woman uses to fan away the drug’s odor and the dramatic wisp of smoke that encircles the pair. Here the trail of smoke and other highlighted areas were created by applying an acid-resistant varnish to the plate (called “stopping out”), allowing the lines to appear as a striking negative space.

Master Prints from the Permanent Collection
Jun 21, 1985 – Sep 08, 1985
Recent Gifts and Acquisitions
Nov 05, 1982 – Jan 02, 1983

Use & Feedback

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Albert Besnard (French, 1849-1934)
Morphine Addicts (Morphinomanes), 1887
Etching and drypoint on cream-colored, smooth wove paper
Image/plate: 24 x 37.3 cm (9 7/16 x 14 11/16 inches)
Mary B. Jackson Fund 81.206

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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