The Saviour Blessing the Bread - George Baxter

Gift of Henry M. Huxley

"The Saviour Blessing the Bread" by George Baxter (c. 1852) Steel etching, aquatint, and stipple printed in brown-black, with block printing in colors, on wove paper, laid down on original mount.

Commentary

"The Saviour Blessing the Bread" by George Baxter (c. 1852) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. The print-based method rewards close viewing, where line, texture, and contrast do most of the expressive work. Themes t o notice include wood engraving. This piece is held in the source collection's Prints and Drawings collection. George Baxter is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: George Baxter English, 1804-1867. The work is cataloged within a England cultural context. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as wood engraving, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Steel etching, aquatint, and stipple printed in brown-black, with block printing in colors, on wove paper, laid down on original mount) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (Image: 20.7 × 16.6 cm (8 3/16 × 6 9/16 in.); mount: 34.6 × 26.7 cm (13 5/8 × 10 9/16 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include wood engraving. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/61536

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data