Vue Panoramique du Port de Saint-Nazaire (Panoramic View of the Port of Saint-Nazaire)

Jean-Émile Laboureur, artist

1877–1943

Vue Panoramique du Port de Saint-Nazaire (Panoramic View of the Port of Saint-Nazaire), 1918

Where object was made: France

Material/technique: etching

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 311 x 505 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 12 1/4 x 19 7/8 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 508 x 713 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 20 x 28 1/16 in
Plate Mark/Block Dimensions (Height x Width): 15 3/4 x 25 3/4 in
Plate Mark/Block Dimensions (Height x Width): 400 x 654 mm
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 24 x 32 in

Credit line: Gift of Professor Eric Gustav Carlson

Accession number: 2014.1728

Not on display

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This impressive etching was commissioned by the municipality of Saint-Nazaire, an important French Harbor with access to the Atlantic Ocean that served as a stronghold for the U.S. army near the end of WWI. The “dazzle ship” in the foreground, left of center, has been painted with dazzle camouflage, which uses strongly contrasting geometric patterns. The goal of dazzle camouflage was not to become invisible but to make it difficult to estimate the vessel’s distance, speed, and direction of motion.
Laboureur studied printmaking in Paris in the late 19th century, befriending the famous artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. From 1903–1907 he lived in the United States, then returned to France and visited London. With the outbreak of war in 1914, he enlisted in the British army serving as an interpreter in the 12th division while continuing to make engravings.