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Giovanni David

Sacrifice

c. 1775–1776
etching and aquatint printed in black and brown, heightened with white gouache

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In the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · as of July 2026

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FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

David was the most intriguing Genoese print-maker of the 18th century. Like Francisco Goya, his Spanish contemporary, he was a very early practitioner of aquatint, a technique invented in France about 1765. David's free, painterly handling of this type of etching medium, which produces the effect of a wash, created subtle effects of light and atmosphere.

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