# Tomb with Sphinxes and an Owl

**Louis Jean Desprez** (French, c. 1743–1804)  
c. 1779–84  
aquatint with etching  
Platemark: 34 x 48.7 cm (13 3/8 x 19 3/16 in.); Sheet: 35 x 50.3 cm (13 3/4 x 19 13/16 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 2018.207. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/2018.207).

## About this work

Originally trained as an architect, Louis Jean Desprez produced this print depicting a tomb while living in Rome. He combined details observed while visiting catacombs in southern Italy with macabre inventions, such as the pair of feet visible from within the sculptural space. Desprez creatively used aquatint—a printmaking technique that produces shades of gray—to render the space’s dramatic shadows and stone surfaces.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Louis Jean Desprez made this in about 1779–84, aged about 31. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **Aquatint.** Resin dust is fused to the plate and bitten with acid, so the plate prints areas of tone, like a wash, rather than lines.
- **Etching.** The artist draws with a needle through a waxy coating on a copper plate, and acid bites the exposed lines. The plate is then inked, wiped and printed under pressure, so the line keeps the freedom of drawing.

### [Louis Jean Desprez](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/louis-jean-desprez)

French, c. 1743–1804

## Facts

- Type: Print
- Culture: France
- The artist was about 31
- Real size: about 13 × 19 in (34 × 49 cm). The 16 × 20 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 18th century
- Colour: grey
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/786.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/786/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/tomb-with-sphinxes-and-an-owl-cma-313396).