Fascicule I by Jean Claude Richard, Abbé de Saint-Non

Fascicule I 1763

jeanclauderichardabbedesaintnon

minneapolisinstituteofart

print, etching

aged paper

toned paper

light pencil work

print

etching

pencil sketch

personal sketchbook

ink drawing experimentation

france

sketchbook drawing

watercolour illustration

sketchbook art

watercolor

"Fascicule I" is an etching from 1763 by French artist Jean Claude Richard, Abbé de Saint-Non. This print, housed in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, depicts a collection of five classical antiquities, including a female statue, two vases, and two bases, rendered in meticulous detail. The use of etching allowed for precise lines and delicate shading, giving the illusion of three-dimensionality and enhancing the viewer's appreciation for the beauty and artistry of ancient Roman craftsmanship. Saint-Non's work is significant as it provides a glimpse into the fascination with classical art during the Enlightenment and highlights the emerging discipline of archaeology.

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minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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The Jean-Baptiste Claude Richard (also known by his title abbé Saint-Non) embodied the important role of the amateur, an patron and connoisseur of the arts as well as a practitioner in 18th-century France. He was a skilled networker, a curious, innovative printmaker, and he supported his artist friends in their projects and travels. Saint-Non executed this suite of prints in Paris in 1763, representing antique fragments and reliefs he saw during his travels in Italy from 1759 to 1761. Most of the monuments are identified in the inscriptions by their locations in Rome. The works reflect French artists’ fascination with antiquity at the time, and the way in which these sources were transmitted to a larger public through the circulation of prints. Remarkably the suite of etchings remain as originally issued, in three groups of six deckle-edged sheets stitched together simply along the top edge.