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Source Description
Originally trained as an architect, Louis Jean Desprez produced this print depicting a tomb while living in Rome. He combined details observed while visiting catacombs in southern Italy with macabre inventions, such as the pair of feet visible from within the sculptural space. Desprez creatively used aquatint—a printmaking technique that produces shades of gray—to render the space’s dramatic shadows and stone surfaces.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
313396
label
Tomb with Sphinxes and an Owl
core
obj
dtoType
print
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
313396
contentType
print
title
Tomb with Sphinxes and an Owl
description
Originally trained as an architect, Louis Jean Desprez produced this print depicting a tomb while living in Rome. He combined details observed while visiting catacombs in southern Italy with macabre inventions, such as the pair of feet visible from within the sculptural space. Desprez creatively used aquatint—a printmaking technique that produces shades of gray—to render the space’s dramatic shadows and stone surfaces.
date
c. 1779–84
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79873883
creators
39670
genreSpecific
Print
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Platemark: 34 x 48.7 cm (13 3/8 x 19 3/16 in.); Sheet: 35 x 50.3 cm (13 3/4 x 19 13/16 in.)
cul
France, 18th century
accession
2018.207
Source extras
tec
aquatint with etching
tombstone
Tomb with Sphinxes and an Owl, c. 1779–84. Louis Jean Desprez (French, 1743–1804). Aquatint with etching; platemark: 34 x 48.7 cm (13 3/8 x 19 3/16 in.); sheet: 35 x 50.3 cm (13 3/4 x 19 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance and Greta Millikin Trust, 2018.207
collection
PR - Aquatint
inscriptions
inscription
inscribed in graphite on verso: 1881 / 10; watermark and countermark: fleur de lis enclosed in a circle, (right side of sheet); VM’TORJ, (est.), (left side of the sheet)
didYouKnow
The growing popularity of Egypt in the late 18th century, bolstered by Napoleon Bonaparte’s ultimately failed attempt to colonize the country, ensured a ready market for the subject of Louis Jean Desprez's print.
citations
citation
Wollin, Nils G. <em>Gravures originales de Desprez ou exécutées d'après dessins</em>. Malmö: J. Kroon, 1933.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 57, no. 28 (as Tombeau c); Reproduced: p. 146
citation
Peters, Emily and Salsbury, Britany. “Acquisitions 2018: Prints and Drawings.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine </em>vol. 59, no. 2 (March/April 2019): 20-23.
page_number
Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 22.
catalogueRaisonne
Wollin 28
creditline
Severance and Greta Millikin Trust
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:54:40.890000
sourceId
313396
dept
Prints
coll
PR - Aquatint
med
aquatint with etching
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
b2593e992d55934a