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Z0055356.jpg

Introduction

Altered States

Etching in Late 19th-Century Paris
June 30 - December 3, 2017

In late 19th-century Paris, the printmaking process of etching underwent a revolutionary transformation. Although the technique had existed for centuries and had been practiced by well-known historical artists such as Rembrandt and Jacques Callot, etching had dramatically waned in popularity by 1800.

The status of etching changed in the 1860s, when the French publisher Alfred Cadart and printer Auguste Delâtre co-founded the Société des Aquafortistes (Society of Etchers). This organization used etching to inspire a new interest in prints among artists and the general public alike by providing instruction, equipment, and space for working, exhibiting, and socializing. Their efforts led to what is known as the etching revival, a movement that spread across Europe and the United States.

This exhibition examines the decades that followed the etching revival, when the availability of new technical information about etching allowed artists to experiment more than ever before. Their creative use of process and subject matter—from developing new tools and materials to editing their compositions by producing variations known as “states”—inspired artists for decades to come.

Britany Salsbury
Former Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Fellow
Department of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs

The exhibition is complemented by the online publication Altered States: Etching in Late 19th-Century Paris, made possible by a grant from the IFPDA Foundation.

Selected Objects

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Édouard Manet

Mlle. Victorine in the Costume of an Espada (Victorine Meurent), 1862
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Rembrandt van Rijn

St. Jerome beside a Pollard Willow, 1648
RISDM 47-690.jpg

Charles Meryon

San Francisco, 1855 - 1856
RISDM 47-719-14.jpg

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, printmaker

Les Jardins d'Horace (The Gardens of Horace), ca. 1855 (printed in 1921)
RISDM 47-719-33.jpg

Charles François Daubigny

Cows at a Watering Place (Vaches à l'abreuvoir), 1862 (printed 1921)
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Jacques Callot

Turk Seen from the Front, Right Hand on Hip (Le Turc Vu de Face, Levant le Bras Droit), ca. 1621-1624
RISDM 53-328.jpg

Albert Besnard

In the Ashes (Dans les Cendres), 1887
RISDM 81-206.jpg

Albert Besnard

Morphine Addicts (Morphinomanes), 1887
Z0055420.jpg

Adolphe Martial Potémont

Letter on the Elements of Etching (page four), 1860
RISDM 84-198-787-9.jpg

Charles François Daubigny

Interior of an Inn (Intérieur d'une Auberge), 1862
RISDM 48-362.jpg

Honoré Daumier

Etching Study by Four Artists, 1872
RISDM 84-198-786.jpg

Charles Meryon

The Mortuary, Paris, 1854
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Félix Bracquemond

The Top of a Door (Le Haut d'un battant de porte), 1852
Z0055422.jpg

Félix Hilaire Buhot

Winter in Paris or Paris in the Snow (L'Hiver à Paris ou La Neige à Paris), 1879
RISDM 75-049.jpg

Félicien Rops

Farewell at the Parc d'Auteuil (Les Adieux d'Auteuil), 1869
Z0055416.jpg

Adolphe Martial Potémont

Letter on the Elements of Etching (page one), 1864
Z0050687.jpg

Jacques Callot

Turk Seen from the Front, Right Hand on Hip (Le Turc Vu de Face, Levant le Bras Droit), ca. 1621-1624
Z0055419.jpg

Adolphe Martial Potémont

Letter on the Elements of Etching, 1864
Z0055412.jpg

Félix Hilaire Buhot

Westminster Bridge, 1884
RISDM 84-198-1311.jpg

Auguste Rodin

Portrait of Henry Becque, 1883-1887
RISDM 50-035.jpg

Edvard Munch

The Day After, 1894
Z0055425.jpg

Théodore Roussel

The Port of Fowey, 1911
RISDM 1987-013-6.jpg

Théodore Roussel

The Port of Fowey, 1911
Z0055426.jpg

Théodore Roussel

The Port of Fowey, 1911
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Théodore Roussel

The Port of Fowey, 1911
RISDM 50-318.jpg

Félix Bracquemond

Portrait of Edmond de Goncourt, 1881-1882
RISDM 66-100.jpg

Charles Meryon

Armand Guéraud of Nantes, Printer and Man of Letters (Armand Guéraud, imprimeur et littérateur, de Nantes), 1861
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Edgar Degas

On Stage III, 1876-1877
RISDM 78-137.jpg

Félicien Rops

Farewell at the Parc d'Auteuil (Les Adieux d'Auteuil), 1869
RISDM 58-031.jpg

Édouard Manet

The Cats (Les Chats), 1868 - 1869 (probably printed later)
Z0055423.jpg

Théodore Roussel

The Port of Fowey, 1911
Z0055424.jpg

Théodore Roussel

The Port of Fowey, 1911
Z0055418.jpg

Adolphe Martial Potémont

Letter on the Elements of Etching (page three), 1864
RISDM 83-225-34.jpg

Louis Legrand

The Remains of a Family (Épaves de famille), 1884
RISDM 51-004 v_14.jpg

Abraham Bosse

On the Manner of Etching with Acid and with a Burin, and of Dark-Manner Engraving, 1645
RISDM 66-121.jpg

Charles Meryon

Frame for Portrait of Guéraud (with drawn portrait of Auguste Delâtre), 1862
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Félix Bracquemond

The Top of a Door (Le Haut d'un battant de porte), 1852
RISDM 84-198-787-8.jpg

Charles François Daubigny

Searching for an Inn (La Recherche d'une Auberge), 1862
RISDM 2005-138-1.jpg

Noël Masson

The Flood (Le Déluge), 1875
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Mary Cassatt

Standing Nude with a Towel, ca. 1879
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Mary Cassatt

Standing Nude with a Towel, ca. 1879
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Henri Guérard

Invitation for the Second Diner Dentu (Diner Dentu, deuxième invitation), ca. 1880
RISDM 2016-107.jpg

Henri Guérard

An African Woman, after Eva Gonzalès, ca. 1888
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François Bonvin

The Etcher, 1861
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Mary Cassatt

Telling Fortunes, ca. 1881
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Mary Cassatt

Telling Fortunes, ca. 1881

More objects +

Exhibition Checklist

Altered States : Etching in Late 19th-Century Paris

June 30 - December 3, 2017
View Checklist PDF

RISD Museum

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