L’impératrice en grand costume – P. Audouin (1768-1822) after Isabey et Percier

Height: 30”

Width: 22 ½”

Chalcography refers to the process of engraving on brass or copper. In 1660, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Controller General of Finance to Louis XIV, founded the "Cabinet of Engraved Plates of the King," to illustrate and diffuse the great events of the reign of Louis XIV, the Royal Residences, and the Royal Collections. The Chalcographie du Louvre, founded in 1797, incorporated the King's collection of engraved plates and today encompasses more than 13,000 plates.  Until the invention of lithography (1796) and photography (1839), engraving was the primary technique for the reproduction and dissemination of images. The Chalcographie du Louvre continues to print images from the original copper plates, and the works offered here are from the original copper plates in the Louvre's collection.

AVAILABLE UNFRAMED ONLY