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Portrait of Paul Rajon

Sitter Paul Adolphe Rajon French
1867
Not on view
In this small, sketch-like portrait, Boilvin shows Rajon working intently over an etching plate. The two printmakers were friends since their student days in Metz. Boilvin is gently satirical in his portrayal, making a childlike drawing the product of Rajon's intense concentration. Following Rajon's untimely death in 1888, the portrait acquired an added poignancy and greater public exposure in the 1890s. It was included in the large exhibition of contemporary etching at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1896 and two years later, the French monthly journal "L'Estampe et L'Affiche" offered impressions to its readers.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Portrait of Paul Rajon
  • Artist: Emile Boilvin (French, Metz 1845–1899 Paris)
  • Sitter: Paul Adolphe Rajon (French, Dijon 1843–1888 Auvers-sur-Oise)
  • Date: 1867
  • Medium: Etching; second state of three
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 11 1/8 × 7 7/16 in. (28.2 × 18.9 cm)
    Plate: 5 5/16 × 4 13/16 in. (13.5 × 12.3 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.3.1003
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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