Blondel mezzotint

GEORGES-FRANCOIS BLONDEL              Paris 1730 – after 1791

A View of the Inside of a Church.

Mezzotint; c. 1765-67. Dodgson 8, only state.  Inventaire du fonds français 9.

Dodgson cites two impressions, London and Vienna to which must be added Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale. Watermark: Auvergne with Name of Jesus countermark, similar to Heawood 2952 (datable 1778, Paris).  Provenance: J. P. Morgan (1837-1913), sold at Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 22 March 1944, lot 16.

While the medium in the hands of English artists excelled in subtle shifts from light to dark and exceptional refinement of detail, Blondel used the medium to create flickering crepuscular effects, often suppressing detail in favor of emphasizing vastness of scale and somber moods. The atmosphere of this presumably church interior is distinctly gloomy and cold, lit only by an oculus at the crossing of the nave and transept. The figures lining the north wall and gallery,  all seemingly avoiding the central space, seem curiously anxious and even fearful observers. This oppressive mood may be compared to the mood of Piranesi’s Carceri.

Blondel was the son of the architect Jacques-François Blondel, the architect of Louis XV. It is not clear if the artist met Piranesi, even if it is known that he was in Rome sometime before he went to England in 1765, when he began to exhibit his mezzotints.

Blondel’s mezzotints are rare.

327 x 425 mm    21 ¾ x 15 15/16 inches