Plate 2 for "Treatise on Etching"
Maxime-François-Antoine Lalanne
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
Like many aspiring artists in nineteenth-century France, Maxime Lalanne moved to Paris, where he was able to work in the studio of an established history painter, and to exhibit at the public Salon. After meeting Alfred Cadart, he abandoned these goals in favor of etching. Lalanne became an active member of the Société des Aquafortistes and frequently contributed urban views to the group's albums. He was best known, however, for his Treatise on Etching, published in 1866. The text featured detailed instruction on each stage of production, from preparation of tools to printing techniques, in addition to more theoretical commentary on the ideal uses and distinct qualities of etching. Interspersed throughout the text, Lalanne's own prints tangibly illustrated the outcomes of various processes. Because artists often taught themselves or learned from friends how to etch, the Treatise was immensely popular throughout Europe and the United States and encouraged further experimentation in the media. See 59.500.789 for the first state of this print, with lighter (and fewer) etched lines and without "Paris" in the inscription.
Drawings and Prints
An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.