Saint Christopher

In this print, Wallerand Vaillant articulates landscape, figure, and atmosphere with the perfect subtlety of light. Mezzotint was a relatively new intaglio process in which the artist burnished out highlights and gradations, effectively erasing the darkness, from a completely roughened copper plate that would print black if left untouched. In the final state the artist added stars, as well as more definition to the clouds and landscape, and intensified the highlights of the figures and their respective objects (the staff of the Saint, and the world held by the Christ-child). The result is a tonally richer composition.