Portrait of the Poet Evariste Boulay-Paty 1861

Charles Meryon made this print of the poet Evariste Boulay-Paty using etching, a printmaking process with a long history. The image begins with a metal plate, likely copper, its surface carefully coated with a waxy, acid-resistant ground. Meryon then used a needle to draw through this ground, exposing the metal beneath. When the plate was immersed in acid, the lines were bitten into the metal, creating grooves. These grooves would hold the ink, transferred to paper under great pressure in a printing press. The resulting print has a distinctive character. Look closely, and you’ll see the subtle variations in the lines, their depth and thickness, which create a rich tonal range. This direct engagement with the material—the plate, the acid, the paper—gives the portrait a unique immediacy. It’s a reminder that even in the age of mechanical reproduction, the hand of the artist, and the inherent qualities of the materials, still play a crucial role. Meryon wasn't just making an image; he was engaging in a deeply physical and skillful process.