Artwork
Dans un Parc
Dans un Parc is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Maxime Lalanne. It dates from 1869 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1869, *Dans un Parc* is an etching on laid paper by French artist François Antoine Maxime Lalanne. The work belongs to the 19th‑century revival of etching in France and exemplifies Lalanne’s focus on landscape subjects rendered through the precision of printmaking.
Subject & Meaning
The image presents a quiet park scene centered on a solitary, tall tree whose robust trunk and spreading branches dominate the composition. Surrounding vegetation, a distant stone wall, and faint architectural hints suggest a cultivated garden space, evoking a mood of calm contemplation and the subtle play of light among foliage.
Technique & Style
Lalanne employed traditional intaglio methods, incising lines into a copper plate and transferring them onto laid paper. The etching’s fine hatching and varied tonal washes generate texture, allowing the tree’s sparse and dense leaf clusters to appear with depth. The restrained palette of black ink emphasizes line work over color, characteristic of his delicate, observational style.
History & Provenance
Lalanne, noted for his prolific output of etchings and charcoal sketches, produced *Dans un Parc* during a period when French artists were re‑examining the possibilities of the medium. The print has circulated among private collections and museum holdings that specialize in 19th‑century graphic arts, reflecting its continued relevance to studies of the era’s print culture.
Artist & collection
Artist
François Antoine Maxime Lalanne (November 27, 1827 – July 29, 1886) was a French artist known for his etchings and charcoal drawings (fusain).
