Normandy: Church of St. Jean, Laigle

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Normandy: Church of St. Jean, Laigle

Artist John Taylor Arms (American, 1887-1953)

Date1944

DimensionsImage: H. 2 in. (5 cm): W. 1 1/4 in. (3.1 cm)

MediumEtching

ClassificationPrints

Credit LineGift of Doreen C. Spitzer in memory of Mr. & Mrs. Ward M. Canaday

Object number

1976.79

Not on View

Label TextJohn Taylor Arms (American, 1887–1953) is considered one of the preeminent etchers of the 20th century (please see gallery cards for a description of etching). Often using finely honed, hand-made tools he created strikingly detailed images of the Gothic architecture he so admired. Arms trained as an architect at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and by 1914 was established in an architectural firm. However, a gift of an etching kit, given by his new wife in 1913, began his transformation into a printmaker. After service in World War I (1914–18), Arms devoted himself full-time to etching. As much as he admired Gothic architecture, Arms did not restrict himself entirely to renderings of medieval European churches and cathedrals and Gothic inspired details. As can be seen in the prints displayed here—some of them among the smallest in the exhibition—simple country churches and narrow medieval streets, Vermont landscapes, Mexican villages, and natural rock formations also fascinated the artist. Regardless of subject, however, all of Arms’ etchings express a devotion to detail and technique; undeniably a reflection of his training as an architect. This print was probably produced after a drawing done prior to 1940. John Taylor Arms would produce highly detailed drawings onsite, which he would then often replicate line for line on the printing plate. Now called L‘Aigle, Laigle is a commune (roughly equivalent to a municipality in the U.S.) in northwestern France.Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, Storytelling in Miniature, October 7, 2011-March 4, 2012.Comparative ReferencesSee also Library of Congress, American Prints, The Johns Hopkins Press, 1970, no. 221.