Near Vesuvius. Album of a scenic journey. Engraving and book of the 18th-19th centuries

As an amateur painter and engraver, Saint-Non worked in the agile and fast technique of etching, lavis and aquatint, which allowed him to achieve the effect of subtle light tints in the engraving.One of the aspects of the study and popularization of classical engraving is to define the role of art lovers and patrons in the development of world art culture. In France in the second half of the 18th century, such a person was Jean-Claude Richard, Abbot de Saint-Non (1727-1791) - a talented amateur artist, printmaker, publisher, friend and patron of artists, who left a career of theologian and politician and donated all his funds to the altar service to art. In 1759 Saint-Non, together with the retirees of the Paris Academy in Rome - the young artists Honore Fragonard and Hubert Robert - set off from Rome on a creative journey that covered all of Italy. As a result of the long and fruitful work of artists in temples, palaces, among the majestic ruins of Herculaneum and at the archaeological sites of Pompeii, numerous drawings have appeared. Most of them were translated into engraving by Richard de Saint-None. As an amateur painter and engraver, Saint-Non worked in the agile and fast technique of etching, lavis and aquatint, which allowed him to achieve the effect of subtle light tints in the engraving.

Based on site materials Astrakhan State Picture Gallery. P.M. Dogadina.