Victoire Tranchart op haar doodsbed 1877

This is a print by Jean-Paul Laurens, likely made in the late 19th or early 20th century, depicting Victoire Tranchart on her deathbed. The medium is etching, a printmaking process where lines are incised into a metal plate with acid, then inked and pressed onto paper. The effect of etching is quite different from a drawing. There’s a characteristic roughness to the lines, created by the acid eating into the metal. You can see how Laurens uses this to advantage, creating a sense of somber realism. This was a period of great social upheaval in France, and art was becoming much more focused on everyday life, including its end. It’s worth remembering that prints like this one were much more affordable than paintings. They brought art to a wider public, and also served to disseminate images, not unlike the internet today. So even in its original context, this image had a powerful democratic function, and its melancholic quality can still be felt today.