Ambroise Vollard
Jean-Louis Forain
French, 1852–1931
1867
A lithograph portrait that uses quick, assured lines and soft shading to evoke the presence and character of a seated Parisian art dealer rather than to document every detail.
What strikes you is the small, centrally placed figure floating in a vast white field, rendered with economical diagonal hatching and a bowed, bearded head that concentrates mood into a few decisive marks.
As a late‑19th‑century print, it shows how lithography could capture contemporary personalities and the atmosphere of the modern art world with immediacy and restraint, shaping later approaches to portraiture and graphic representation.
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
composition: 10 1/4 x 9 3/4" (26 x 24.8 cm); sheet: 26 1/16 x 18 3/8" (66.2 x 46.6 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Larry Aldrich
Accession
21.1952
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
