He presented fifteen paintings of scenes from Russian village life at the Salon of 1765, including The Russian Baptism, which earned Diderot's enthusiastic praise, and The Cradle, which he repeated many times.
1768
Pioneer of Aquatint
In 1768 he was the first artist to introduce aquatint into his etchings; he may indeed have been the inventor of this tonal technique, later made famous by Goya. In the history of printmaking he is also known as the inventor of the lavis technique.
1769
Lavis Prints at the Salon of 1769
He exhibited prints in his newly invented lavis technique at the Salon of 1769; Diderot noted that people said of them that they were deceptive and could never be mistaken for the effect of an engraving.
