Auguste Lepère

Auguste Lepère was a French painter and etcher and considered a leader in the revival of wood engraving in nineteenth century Europe. He began his artistic education in engraver Joseph Burn-Smeeton’s studio at the age of thirteen. By the mid-1870s he was considered one of the most renowned printmakers of his time. He focused on depicting daily life in both his etchings and wood engravings, turning mostly to wood engravings at the end of his life. His corpus consists of over 150 etchings, over 200 wood engravings, and fourteen lithographs. Today he is known for his printmaking innovations, such as his use of colored paper, and combining etching and wood engraving in one print.