Rouen, from Bon Secours

Joseph Pennell

1907 · Etching and drypoint · Drawings and Prints

After a visit to the French cathedral towns of Rouen, Beauvais and Amiens in 1907, Pennell produced this sweeping river view where steep terraced slopes plunge at left, and a winding river leads the eye toward the distant city. The foreground is punctuated by man-made elements—bridges and a train viaduct—constrasting with the distant medieval city and its gothic towers. Within a year, the artist would move to New York and address the booming urban scene in America with a sensibility honed by appreciation for medieval precedents.

Artist

Joseph Pennell

Date

1907

Medium

Etching and drypoint

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Lynne and Peter Esmay, 2016