# Tomb with Sphinxes and an Owl, in Neoclassicism

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

From the museum's label:

> 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.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

[Read the full label](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/tomb-with-sphinxes-and-an-owl-cma-313396#about-work)

## The work

- Date: c. 1779–84
- Medium: aquatint with etching
- Dimensions: 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.)
- Type: Print
- Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 2018.207
- Licence: CC0 1.0

## The artist

[Louis Jean Desprez](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/louis-jean-desprez), French, c. 1743–1804

2 works in the collection.

## Walk on

- [Louis Jean Desprez's contemporaries](https://www.ochreeditions.com/galleries/artist/contemporaries-of-louis-jean-desprez?hang=750) (8 works)
- [More prints of the 18th century](https://www.ochreeditions.com/galleries/style/print-18?hang=750) (129 works)
- [18th-century France](https://www.ochreeditions.com/galleries/era/18-france?hang=750) (75 works)

## Get it

- [Print this work](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/tomb-with-sphinxes-and-an-owl-cma-313396#print)
- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/786.jpg?dl=1
- [The work's page](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/tomb-with-sphinxes-and-an-owl-cma-313396)