La Broderie à l'aiguille

Félix Bracquemond

ca. 1855 (?) · Etching and engraving; second state of two · Drawings and Prints

This early work is somewhat unusual in both subject and style for Bracquemond, now better known for his enigmatic bird studies. The etching depicts a couple on a terrace: a gentleman languidly rests on his elbow while a lavishly dressed woman sits embroidering nearby. The composition seems at first to echo contemporary genre paintings popular at the Salons, yet the relationship between the figures and the meaning of the work remain elusive. "La Broderie" reveals Bracquemond’s continued interest in developing complex, ambiguous scenes and his sheer command of printmaking. In carefully controlling the lines and hatching, Bracquemond deftly mirrored the very act of embroidering with a needle, translating and constructing an image with thread-like lines – his very subject.

Artist

Félix Bracquemond

Date

ca. 1855 (?)

Medium

Etching and engraving; second state of two

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1922