WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›Rodolphe Bresdin

Rodolphe Bresdin

Rodolphe Bresdin

1822

WA-00026371

PrintmakingSurrealismExpressionismSymbolism

Representation

None documented

5

Institutional Exhibitions

256

Works in Collection

271

Assets Indexed

2

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

90%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (3)

WikidataQ467130 ULAN500018116

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

The Symbolist Aesthetic

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1980–1981

No image

Selections from the Collections

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1978

No image

Symbolism, Synthesists, and the Fin-de-Si�cle

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1972

No image

Redon, Moreau, Bresdin

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1961–1962

No image

Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1936–1937

Field Verification (2 fields)

2 cross-verified · 0 single-source

BiographyMoMA· 93%✓
Birth yearArtsy· 85%✓

Source Registry (2)

Christies-Artsyhttps://www.artsy.net/artist/rodolphe-bresdin
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/767
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

Rodolphe Bresdin was a French printmaker and draughtsman of the 19th century known for densely detailed etchings and lithographs executed with meticulous, often obsessive technique. Working primarily in black and white, he created intricate landscapes, biblical scenes, and imaginative compositions populated with minute figures and architectural elements rendered with an almost microscopic precision. His practice anticipated the visionary intensity later associated with Symbolism and Expressionism, though he remained largely isolated from major institutional structures during his lifetime.

Source: Christies Artsy · Trust score: 100% · Updated 1mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Surrealism

Medium

Printmaking

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Museum of Modern ArtNew York Art Institute of Chicago National Gallery of Art

Canonical record

Artworks (256)

The Water's Course

The Water's Course

1888 · etching

National Gallery of Art

My Dream

1883 · etching

National Gallery of Art

My Dream

1883 · Etching on cream laid paper

Image: 18.5 × 12 cm (7 5/16 × 4 3/4 in.); Plate: 21.6 × 13.9 cm (8 9/16 × 5 1/2 in.); Sheet: 31.8 × 22.7 cm (12 9/16 × 8 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Republic

1883 · Lithograph on off-white China paper laid down on white wove paper

Image: 19.6 × 14.2 cm (7 3/4 × 5 5/8 in.); Chine: 23.8 × 17.5 cm (9 3/8 × 6 15/16 in.); Sheet: 40 × 28.3 cm (15 3/4 × 11 3/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Miraculous Draught of Fishes

The Miraculous Draught of Fishes

1883 · Lithograph on gray chine laid down on ivory wove paper

48.2 × 31 cm (19 × 12 1/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

My Dream

1883 · Etching on paper

Image: 18.3 × 11.9 cm (7 1/4 × 4 11/16 in.); Plate: 21.8 × 13.8 cm (8 5/8 × 5 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

My Dream

1883 · Etching

composition: 7 1/4 x 4 3/4" (18.4 x 12 cm); sheet: 14 11/16 x 10 5/16" (37.3 x 26.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

1881 · Pen and black ink

9 11/16 x 12 5/16 in. (24.6 x 31.3 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Brook in the Woods

The Brook in the Woods

1880 · etching on blue laid paper

National Gallery of Art

The Stream in the Gorge

The Stream in the Gorge

1880 · transfer lithograph

National Gallery of Art

The Creek

1880 · Etching and roulette on light gray China paper laid down on white wove paper

Chine: 13 × 20.5 cm (5 1/8 × 8 1/8 in.); Plate: 13.4 × 20.9 cm (5 5/16 × 8 1/4 in.); Sheet: 31.8 × 44.9 cm (12 9/16 × 17 11/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Rocky Landscape

Rocky Landscape

1880 · Etching on off-white China paper laid down on white wove paper

Image: 11.8 × 14.8 cm (4 11/16 × 5 7/8 in.); Chine: 13.5 × 16.4 cm (5 3/8 × 6 1/2 in.); Plate: 13.9 × 17 cm (5 1/2 × 6 3/4 in.); Sheet: 45 × 31.5 cm (17 3/4 × 12 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Clearing in the Forest

Clearing in the Forest

1880 · Etching on cream laid paper

Image: 23 × 15 cm (9 1/16 × 5 15/16 in.); Sheet: 24.2 × 17.1 cm (9 9/16 × 6 3/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Forest of Fontainebleau

The Forest of Fontainebleau

1880 · Etching and drypoint in black ink on cream laid paper

Image: 20.2 × 14.8 cm (8 × 5 7/8 in.); Sheet: 22.6 × 17.3 cm (8 15/16 × 6 13/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Creek

1880 · Etching

plate: 5 1/4 x 8 1/4" (13.4 x 21 cm); sheet: 6 15/16 x 11" (17.7 x 27.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

The Stream

1880 · Etching and roulette

plate: 7 1/16 x 9 7/8" (18 x 25.1 cm); sheet: 9 7/16 x 12 3/8" (23.9 x 31.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Rocky Landscape (Paysage Rocheux)

Rocky Landscape (Paysage Rocheux)

1880 · Etching

plate: 5 1/2 x 6 5/8" (13.9 x 16.8 cm); sheet: 9 9/16 x 11 3/4" (24.3 x 29.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

The Holy Family with the Does

The Holy Family with the Does

1878 · transfer lithograph in black on chine collé

image: 26.2 x 20.1 cm (10 5/16 x 7 15/16 in.) sheet: 44.8 x 31.5 cm (17 5/8 x 12 3/8 in.)

National Gallery of Art

Frontispiece

1878 · lithograph

National Gallery of Art

A North American Indian (Study for historiated A in "Les chefs-d'oeuvre d'art à l'Exposition universelle 1878")

A North American Indian (Study for historiated A in "Les chefs-d'oeuvre d'art à l'Exposition universelle 1878")

1878 · Pen and black ink, over traces of red chalk and graphite, on ivory wove paper, laid down on card

16.8 × 13.7 cm (6 5/8 × 5 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Great Battle

The Great Battle

1878 · Drypoint on cream Japanese paper

Image: 23.9 × 31.8 cm (9 7/16 × 12 9/16 in.); Plate: 24 × 32.2 cm (9 1/2 × 12 11/16 in.); Sheet: 37.4 × 46.3 cm (14 3/4 × 18 1/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Great Battle

The Great Battle

1878 · Drypoint on ivory Japanese paper

Image: 23.3 × 31.3 cm (9 3/16 × 12 3/8 in.); Plate: 23.8 × 33.2 cm (9 3/8 × 13 1/8 in.); Sheet: 39.5 × 48.5 cm (15 9/16 × 19 1/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Caesar and His Prisoners

Caesar and His Prisoners

1878 · Lithograph on cream China paper laid down on white wove paper

Image/chine: 15.7 × 21.2 cm (6 3/16 × 8 3/8 in.); Stone: 24.3 × 17.8 cm (9 5/8 × 7 1/16 in.); Sheet: 45 × 34.5 cm (17 3/4 × 13 5/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Great Battle

The Great Battle

1878 · Original gelatin plate worked in drypoint

216 (right); 217 (left) × 309 mm

Art Institute of Chicago

View all 256 artworks →

Artwork sources (5)

256 published of 269 catalogued · 186 with image

Art Institute Chicago
127 published127 img
The Met
82 published
Nga
27 published27 img
MoMA
13 publishedof 26 catalogued25 img
Rijksmuseum
7 published7 img

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 7)

7 entries · 1 sources

Drie mannen op jacht naar vogels
1832 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Berglandschap met een kasteel bij een overbrugde kloof
1832 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Studieblaadje met ruiters en paarden
1832 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Studieblad met motieven aan de Italiaanse schilderkunst ontleend
1832 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Staande vrouw met een baal op het hoofd
1832 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Ruiter en een springend paard, beiden van voren gezien
1832 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Staande dame in lange japon, op de rug gezien
1832 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Artsy artist portrait

Artsy

The Stream in the Gorge (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

8

Movements3

Surrealism Expressionism Symbolism

Collections5

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Museum of Modern Art Art Institute of Chicago National Gallery of Art Christie's

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

National Gallery of Art

Market

Auction sale history

Houses that have sold works by this artist at auction