The Mountain Lake
Rodolphe Bresdin
French, 1822–1885
1840
An intensely worked etching in which Bresdin uses dense, looping lines to turn a mountain lake and its shoreline into a brooding, almost fantastical landscape.
A massive, gnarled tree carved in deep black anchors the right edge while a swirl of fine, restless marks opens to distant cliffs, water, and tiny human figures, giving the scene an uncanny depth and textured atmosphere.
The print shows how etching could move beyond straightforward depiction to a visionary, symbolist sensibility—Bresdin’s obsessive linework helped expand the expressive possibilities of printmaking and influenced later symbolist and surrealist artists.
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
composition: 4 3/4 x 4 7/16" (12.1 x 11.3 cm); sheet: 4 13/16 x 4 7/16" (12.3 x 11.3 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Dr. F. H. Hirschland
Accession
172.1962
Palette
Exhibitions