Embers Glow

1890–1897

Embers Glow, 1890–1897. Theodore Roussel (French, 1847–1926). Color etching and aquatint mounted on original aquatint mount with etched and aquatinted framing papers surrounding the impression; sheet: 24.3 x 20.4 cm (9 9/16 x 8 1/16 in.); framed: 50.5 x 41.7 x 7 cm (19 7/8 x 16 7/16 x 2 3/4 in.); paper: 37.8 x 29.3 cm (14 7/8 x 11 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 2013.86.10 French artist Theodore Roussel took up etching while living in London during the late 1880s, developing his own techniques and distinctive style. Here, Roussel used aquatint to show a nude woman dimly lit by a fire. To accurately represent the evocative lighting described in the work’s title, Roussel mixed pigments to produce his own inks and carefully applied them to the plate with stencils. He also developed a method of registration so that the mat and frame—both his own printed designs—aligned precisely with the image. Theodore Roussel was one of the few artists to use metallic ink in his printing around the time this print was made.