signed ‘J. Chalon. f.’ (in the plate)
etching
9.3 x 7.4 cm (plate); 9.8 x 7.8 cm (sheet)
Le Blanc 1-100, [1] second and final state (based on the impressions in the Rijksmuseum)
Provenance:
Private collection, The Netherlands.

Like his father, Hendrik Chalon (fl. 1798), Jan Chalon was first and foremost active as a musician. His talents were such, that he left for Paris when 25 years old where he published several of his musical compositions. After spending several years in the French capital, he moved to London where worked as a musician for several prominent families. [2] Besides his musical interest, he too shared a passion for prints with his father. Both Hendrik and Jan amassed large print collections and for Jan this became a source of inspiration to produce prints of his own.

Jan’s primary focus of his print collection was the etched œuvre of Rembrandt as he considered the artist the greatest printmaker that ever existed. Jan’s entire printed œuvre is an homage to the Dutch 17th century master; Chalon aimed to emulate Rembrandt’s etchings as closely as possible. In his spare time, and without any formal training, Jan created a total of one hundred wonderfully intimate etchings executed in the style of Rembrandt’s etchings. As sitters he chose his family members including his father and
his sister, Christina, who is portrayed in this charming etching. Christina herself was a celebrated artist, who, like her brother, mainly worked in the style of 17th century artists (in her case, mainly that of Adriaen van Ostade). Due to Jan’s untimely death, he did not manage to publish his printed œuvre himself, but they were published by his son-in-law, Christian Josi (1768-1828), posthumously. According to Van der Eijnden en Van der Willigen, 150 impressions were printed on normal paper and twelve on Japan paper after which the copperplates were destroyed so that no further good impressions could be printed. [3]

[1] Ch. Le Blanc, Manuel de l'amateur d'estampes [...] précédé de considérations sur l'histoire de la gravure, Paris, 1854-1890, vol. 1, p. 626.
[2] R. van Eijnden and A. van der Willigen, Geschiedenis der Vaderlandsche Schilderkunst, sedert de helft der XVIII eeuw, Haarlem, 1830 [reprint, Amsterdam, 1979], vol. II, p. 269.
[3] R. van Eijnden and A. van der Willigen, op. cit., p. 271.