Artwork
Le stryge (The Vampire)
Le stryge (The Vampire) is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Charles Meryon. It dates from 1853 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1853, *Le stryge* (The Vampire) is an etching on green laid paper by French printmaker Charles Meryon. The image presents a solitary, menacing gargoyle perched on a ledge, its wings outstretched, surveying a nocturnal Parisian skyline of rooftops and spires. The work exemplifies Meryon’s preoccupation with the darker, architectural side of the city.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure—a grotesque gargoyle with pronounced teeth and claws—functions as a symbolic sentinel, evoking the mythic vampire that haunts the night. By placing the creature against a recognizable Parisian backdrop, Meryon juxtaposes the fantastical with the urban, suggesting a hidden, ominous presence within the familiar cityscape.
Technique & Style
Meryon employed traditional copperplate etching, exploiting the green laid paper’s texture to enhance tonal depth. Fine line work renders the gargoyle’s skin folds, wing membranes, and the intricate skyline with a high degree of realism. Dense cross‑hatching creates shadowed areas, while subtle variations in line density convey atmospheric gloom.
History & Provenance
Meryon, who worked almost exclusively in monochrome due to his colour blindness, produced *Le stryge* during a prolific period of Parisian studies. The print has circulated among 19th‑century French print collections and is now held in several museum holdings, reflecting its status as a representative example of his oeuvre.
Context
The etching belongs to a broader series of Meryon’s cityscapes that emphasize the Gothic and melancholic aspects of mid‑19th‑century Paris. At a time when the city was undergoing Haussmann’s modernization, Meryon’s work preserved a vision of its older, shadowed architecture, aligning with contemporary Romantic interests in the macabre and the sublime.
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.
