Charles Meryon

Original Prints: Etchings

 

An eccentric and secretive artist who died mad at the notorious asylum in Charenton, Charles Meryon (1821-1868) was a consummate craftsman when it came to etching.

He gave new life to the concept of the "original print" through a steadfast commitment to his art, with a prodigious oeuvre of more than 100 works.

Partial to stark, meticulously handled architectural views of 19th century Paris, his subjects often take on a disquieting note in a style that, to paraphrase the Goncourt brothers, could well be called "fantastic realism."

 

Charles Meryon, The Morgue, etching

La Morgue

The Morgue

Delteil 36, Wright 36, Schneiderman 42


etching with drypoint, 1854, the 4th state (of 7)

The riverfront at the mortuary serves as staging for a tragically animated scene in one of Meryon's most renowned prints.

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