Artwork Page for Sappho

Details / Information for Sappho

Sappho

1895

Maurice Dumont

(French, 1870–1899)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
gypsograph
Measurements
Sheet: 27.6 x 36.6 cm (10 7/8 x 14 7/16 in.); Image: 12 x 19.1 cm (4 3/4 x 7 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Friends of the Department of Prints and Drawings 1991.153
Catalogue raisonné
Bonafous - Murat 68
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

Maurice Dumont was one of the most prolific practitioners of gypsography, a printmaking technique that resulted in an embossed impression.

Description

Dumont was an innovative printmaker who experimented with a variety of printmaking processes. Sappho-which depicts the ancient Greek poetess with a lyre in a grove of birch trees-appeared in Pan, an artistic journal, accompanied by an article about the gypsograph technique (see glossary). Dumont made several versions of Sappho, which is not surprising since he also wrote poetry.
A horizontally oriented gypsograph with embossed lines depicts Sappho, a woman with a light skin tone, standing in a sparse forest. Facing right, she wears a long gown and holds a lyre, looking toward a flower. Thin trunks rise vertically from a flowered foreground into a textured, off-white background. Dark green ink defines the composition, illustrating her delicate silhouette amidst the rhythmic patterns of the wooded landscape.

Sappho

1895

Maurice Dumont

(French, 1870–1899)
France, 19th century

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