Officer and Laughing Girl, after Vermeer (1866, Met-Objekt 1006)
Original title: Officer and Laughing Girl, after Vermeer
kurzbeschreibung
Jules-Ferdinand Jacquemart's 1866 etching reproduces Johannes Vermeer's painting *Officer and Laughing Girl*. It depicts an officer and a woman at a table in an interior, rendered with delicate lines and shading.
Description
Two figures sit at a table in the foreground: on the left, a man in military uniform with a broad hat; on the right, a woman in a headscarf and long-sleeved dress, holding a glass and laughing. A wall map is visible behind them, and on the left a window with a grid pattern. Light enters from the left, highlighting the figures and the map. The layout feels symmetrical, with tonal values kept in muted gray and black.
Context
Jacquemart made this etching in 1866 as a reproductive print after a painting by Johannes Vermeer, now in the Frick Collection in New York. The sheet is the fifth state of six and was praised by Philippe Burty or another art critic of the time. Such etchings served to disseminate artworks in the 19th century and were popular with collectors.
Impact
A quiet, intimate mood emanates from the print, created by the fine linework and the handling of light. The rendering of textures and shadows achieves a sculptural effect despite the monochrome design, making the scene appear lively.
Technique
For this etching, lines were incised into an etched plate and then printed on paper. Jacquemart used fine hatching and cross-hatching to create light and shadow effects. The plate measures 16.5 × 15.3 cm and is mounted on paper 23 × 17.8 cm.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)