Minneapolis Institute of Art

Paris in the Snow, Viewed from the Tower of Saint-Gervais

Auguste Louis Lepère

Date

1890

Medium

Wood engraving on Japanese-style paper

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Auguste Lepère climbed the tower of St. Gervais church to capture this vast, wintry view of Paris. To the right is the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, whose spire and roof recently burned. The cathedral dominates Île de la Cité (Island of the City), the oldest section of Paris. At left is a bridge leading to Paris’s other island, Île-St.-Louis. The large dome on the horizon is the Panthéon. Originally built as a church, it is now a mausoleum where famous French citizens are buried. One of Lepère’s greatest contributions to art was the revival of woodcut printmaking as a fine art. Specifically, he was an extraordinary skilled wood-engraver, which involves carving very fine lines on blocks of dense, hard wood. Soon he would free himself to make broader, looser marks on softer, less-demanding wood, as seen in other prints in this exhibition. France, Europe

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