Artwork Page for The Petit Pont

Details / Information for The Petit Pont

Series Title: Etchings of Paris

The Petit Pont

1850

Charles Meryon

(French, 1821–1868)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
etching with engraving
Support
Measurements
Sheet: 26.4 x 19.6 cm (10 3/8 x 7 11/16 in.); Image: 24.6 x 18.8 cm (9 11/16 x 7 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1953.10
Catalogue raisonné
Delteil & Wright 24; Schneiderman 20
State
I/VII
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

Charles Meryon described this print as his first original etching.

Description

Charles Meryon used etching—a technique that involves drawing on a printing plate with a needle’s point—to create minutely detailed images of Paris that imaginatively present recognizable sites. This print features bateaux-lavoirs (wash boats) on the Seine River, where laundresses could purchase a spot to do their washing. The boats appealed to Meryon, who was fascinated by Paris’s gradual transformation. Since they attracted crowds of working-class women, administrators considered the boats unsightly and unhygienic, repeatedly pushing them closer to the city’s outskirts until few remained by the end of the 1800s.
A vertical etching in black ink depicts a river scene. In the foreground, small figures occupy boats and a stone walkway. A bridge with three arched openings spans the center, leading to a row of tall buildings on the left. In the background, two massive towers rise into a sky filled with fine horizontal lines and clouds. Dark cross-hatching defines the deep shadows beneath the bridge and within the building windows.

The Petit Pont

1850

Charles Meryon

(French, 1821–1868)
France, 19th century

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