Rousseau et l’estampe : mieux qu’un art visuel

This contribution to a general re-assessment of Rousseau’s whole approach to the visual arts examines in detail the theoretical and aesthetic implications of the author’s provocative and explicit belief in the superiority of the etching over the painting, whether linked to an extensive text such as a novel or standing alone with a caption, either explicit or implicit. The etching, allegedly free of the public display and virtuosity of painting in colour, favours intimate individual empathy with the human story which it shows/tells and approaches the powers of some musical forms such as the solo song.