Sergent-Marceau, Antoine Louis François, illus.

Portraits des grandes hommes, femmes illustres, et sujets mémorable de France.  Paris: Blin, (1786–92)



4to (12  1/4  x 9 in.; 311 x 298 mm).  Engraved title with sepia-toned vignette, engraved dedication leaf, 192 very fine color aquatints, most drawn by Sergent-Marceau, engraved by him and by Moret, Roger, Ridé, and others; very minor spotting.  Early 20th-century red morocco, spines gilt in 6 compartments, covers with overall gilt tooling of fleur de lys pattern, edges gilt, gilt dentelles, marbled endleaves; minimal wear to extremities. 



 

Colorful Impressions: The Printmaking Revolution in Eighteenth-Century France.  Washington: National Gallery of Art, 2003.  Pp 136-37

A superb example of innovative color printing.  This remarkable publication consists of portraits of great men, famous women, and memorable events in the history of France.  It is entirely, text and image, printed intaglio from copper plates.  The color printing consists of 192 aquatints, executed between 1788 and 1792, and comprising oval portraits followed by scenes illustrating the  heroic acts, or philosophy or discoveries, of the subjects.  Many readers will be amused to find the first portrait, that of Louis XVI, followed by a plate celebrating the independence of the United States from Britain.  In the plate, an American Indian stands next to a monument with a relief portrait of Louis XVI mounted above portraits of Franklin and Washington. The color printing seems to have involved several impressions of processes, for the registration marks in each instance are clearly visible.  The resulting gradations of shade and color are extraordinarily skilled.

In addition to being a master engraver, Sergent-Marceau (1751–1847) was a writer, translator and zealous Republican.  During the Revolution he was in charge of police administration and was involved in a number of upleasant episodes.  To his credit, he did rescue many people from arbitrary execution and made strenuous efforts to protect threatened works of art.