Artwork
Collège Henri IV, Paris, ou Lycée Napoléon (Henry IV College or Napoleon School, Paris)
Collège Henri IV, Paris, ou Lycée Napoléon (Henry IV College or Napoleon School, Paris) is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Charles Meryon. It dates from 1864 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Created in 1864, this print presents the façade of the Collège Henri IV—also known as the Lycée Napoléon—situated in Paris.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1864, this print presents the façade of the Collège Henri IV—also known as the Lycée Napoléon—situated in Paris. Executed as an etching on laid paper, the image captures the building within a densely packed urban environment, emphasizing the layered architecture and bustling street life characteristic of mid‑19th‑century Paris.
Subject & Meaning
The work focuses on the historic college, positioning it amid a crowded streetscape where overlapping rooftops, winding alleys, and distant ships convey the city's vitality. Small figures on foot and horseback animate the scene, suggesting everyday activity while the prominent church on the left anchors the composition within a broader religious and civic context.
Technique & Style
Meryon employed a fine‑line etching process, exploiting the contrast of deep shadows and delicate hatching to render intricate architectural detail. The use of laid paper adds a subtle texture that enhances the atmospheric quality, while the dense, almost chaotic arrangement of structures reflects the artist’s Gothic‑inflected vision of Parisian space.
History & Provenance
Charles Meryon, a French printmaker noted for his exclusive use of etching due to his colour‑blindness, produced this image during a prolific period in the 1860s. Though highly regarded in France as a leading 19th‑century etcher, his reputation remained relatively limited in English‑speaking circles at the time of his death.
Context
Meryon’s oeuvre often centered on Paris’s medieval character, a perspective shaped by his personal ties to the city. This print aligns with his broader series of urban scenes that document the architectural fabric of Paris before Haussmann’s extensive renovations, preserving a view of the capital’s older streetscape.
Artist & collection
Artist
Charles Meryon (sometimes Méryon, 23 November 1821 – 14 February 1868) was a French artist who worked almost entirely in etching, as he had colour blindness.
