Portrait of Jean-Léon Gérôme
date: label: Date made
content: 1879
label: date made
content: 1899
name: label: graphic artist
content: Ferris, Stephen James
notes: label: Description
content: Stephen Ferris etched a dapper <i>J. L. Gérôme</i> (1824–1904) in 1899, near the end of Gérôme’s very successful career as painter and sculptor. Ferris had admired the French artist’s work for many years, at least since 1863 when he named his son after him. Although Ferris never actually met Gérôme, the two artists had corresponded. For this print Ferris used a photograph he had received from Gérôme. He then sent Gérôme trial proofs for comments and requested a signature to include in the final impressions, which appears here at lower left.
label: Description
content: Gérôme congratulated Ferris on the portrait as “work done with great care and great talent—the effect is very good and very firm. If I had any criticism to make, I would reserve it for the background, which is a little too even, and for the clothing, which has a little softness in the execution.” Gérôme also suggested that the highlight on the order which appears on his left breast and is not particularly noticeable in the photograph, be less bright. The order remains brightly lit, possibly Ferris’s tribute to Gérôme.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: Place Made
content: United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
topic: label: Subject
content: Portraits
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Graphic Arts
label: See more items in
content: Ferris Collection
label: See more items in
content: Communications
label: See more items in
content: Art
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Ferris Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: GA.14396.01
label: accession number
content: 94830
label: catalog number
content: 14396.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: print
label: Object Name
content: etching
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ink (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: image: 34 cm x 21 cm; 13 3/8 in x 8 1/4 in
label: Measurements
content: sheet: 40.5 cm x 28 cm; 15 15/16 in x 11 in