Image

Jean-Baptiste Le Prince

Head of a Turk (Tête de Turc)

Description

Maker

Jean-Baptiste Le Prince (French, 1734-1781), designer

Title

Head of a Turk (Tête de Turc)
from The First Series of Headdresses Sketched from Life (Première Suite de Coiffures Dessinnées d'Après Nature)

Year

1768

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

aquatint

Supports

Dimensions

Plate: 13.3 x 8.6 cm (5 1/4 x 3 3/8 inches) (including inscription)

Identification

Standard Reference Number

Hédou 1970, no. 103

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund

Object Number

66.230

Type

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Visions and Revisions
Feb 15, 2019 – Aug 04, 2019

Label copy

These portraits were based on drawings Le Prince made during his extensive travels in Russia. Back in France, he started publishing prints in 1768 using a particular method of aquatint that allowed him to attain a painterly fluidity while retaining a high degree of control. Printed in brown ink, the plates replicated the visual qualities of pen and wash, catering to an expanding market for drawings. Le Prince was closely associated with Saint-Non (at left), but the two printmakers developed different techniques for etching tone.

Le Prince became famous for his prints and genre paintings of Russian exotica. His taste for strong tonal contrasts and orientalist subjects earned him the nickname of “the Rembrandt of our time.”

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

Tombstone

Jean-Baptiste Le Prince (French, 1734-1781), designer
Head of a Turk (Tête de Turc); from The First Series of Headdresses Sketched from Life (Première Suite de Coiffures Dessinnées d'Après Nature), 1768
Etching and aquatint on laid paper
Plate: 13.3 x 8.6 cm (5 1/4 x 3 3/8 inches) (including inscription)
Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund 66.230

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