1555 1906 Fine Prints
Catalogue 15
E R I G I L L I S F I N E
A RT
1555 1906 Fine Prints
Eric Gillis Fine Art T +32 2 503 14 64 W www.eg-fineart.com M info@eg-fineart.com 14, rue aux laines | 1000 Brussels | Belgium
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Monogrammist R. S. Active in London or Paris, ca. 1550-65 Interiorum corporis humani partium viva delineatio Woodcut on laid paper, flap print, ca. 1555-59 Plate 355 x 368 mm Reference Andrea Carlino, Paper bodies:Â a catalogue of anatomical fugitive sheets, 1538-1687, London, Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, 1999, no. 25
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Naked with cloths hiding the pudenda, a seated male and a female figure are represented following the features set by Andreas Vesalius. The man has his left hand in a basin filled with water, the woman holds a banner Nosce teipsum / Knowe thyself. At the lower left, the monogram R. S. and a knife are carved. The outstanding peculiar aspect of this woodcut is that the figures’ torsos can be opened, disclosing the inner parts of the bodies, even the fœtus growing inside the woman’s uterus. The internal organs were printed on separate sheets of paper, cut and pasted together so that they in turn can be lifted up. The last layer represents the posterior side of the thoracic cage and of the spinal cord. This illustration actually provided a virtual three-dimensionality of the subject represented, and allowed displaying the functional and spatial relationships between parts and organs. It also translated onto paper the idea of anatomical dissection, simulating the progressive unveiling of the body from skin to guts.
to develop. This “multilayers” image also testifies the apparition in France and England, from late Italian Renaissance, of “living” images; the vivissimo playing the role of “anatomy for artists” where dissections focused on muscles and bones was a mean to correctly draw the human figure, or to explore the inner systems, even abnormal developments as manifested in early collections of curiosities. The present print was published in 1559 in London. Originally it was part of a set of two pages, the first one containing the figures, the second one containing texts entitled: The Anatomie of the inwarde Partes of man (…); The Anatomie of the inward Partes of wooman; and The declaration of the letters signifiynge the principall ueynes to lette bludde. The basin of water, the bath setting, as well as the veins drawn on the arm of the male figure allude to the practice of bloodletting explained in the Declaration; the letters printed on the parts and organs of the inner flaps refer to the texts about the anatomy of man and woman. Some copies have additional colorings in the background, as the ones of the British Museum and the Uppsala Universitetsbibliotek and they might have been printed later; only the British Museum copy bears an additional letter Anatomie tres-utile, pour cognoistre les parties interieures de l’homme & de la femme…
This print belongs to the typographical genre referred to as anatomical fugitive sheets with flaps or flap anatomies. Heinrich Vogtherr published the first one in 1538 in Strasbourg. Such sheets continued to appear until the 17th century. The number of editions testifies their prodigious commercial success and wide circulation. Between 1538 and 1545, for instance, at least twenty different editions were printed in Europe. Because their rough and popular appearance, and the poor scientific content, little attention was given to such typographical artefacts since then. Few copies have only survived and today those are very rare on the market.
These sheets were always bound with the 1559 edition of the English translation of the Compendiosa totius anatomie delineation by Thomas Geminus in London. Geminus was a Flemish protestant arrived in England in the 1540’s and he introduced there the art of engraving. The Compendiosa, first published in Latin in 1545 in London and then translated into English in 1553 by the humanist Nicholas Udall, is a deliberate plagiarism of Andrea Vesalius’ De humani corporis fabrica and Epitome, both published in Basel in 1543. Probably the dedication of the English translation to Edward VI (1553) and to Queen Elisabeth (1559), the portraits engraved of the Queen, as well
As a matter of fact, this extraordinary woodcut is at the heart of a complex and fascinating story involving protestant printers’ networks and solidarity, career strategies and struggles for professional survival at a moment when a new printing culture was emerging and a new print market started
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in late 1540’s or ca. 1551 according Jean Adhémar (Inventaire du Fonds Français, vol. II, p. 331). He was originally active in the typographical scene of the rue Montorgeuil, Paris, and remained in active business there. As a woodcutter or a publisher, he tried to capture royal attention producing portrait of Elisabeth I, a series of prints representing the Genealogy of the kings of England (ca. 1560) and a caricature of the Devil and the Pope. He was probably less lucky than Geminus in his patronage strategies, as he remains an obscure figure of the mid-16th century print market. Was he the mysterious monogrammist R. S.? No evidence has come through about this. The plate was later edited in 17th century again in London but did not bear the monogrammist initials.
as the acquaintance with the English intellectual elites helped Geminus’ social ascend, as in his later editions he signed as Thomas Geminus physityon. However the present woodcut was not even drawn, cut and published by Geminus: he was not a woodcutter. In fact, a woodcut entitled “The anatomie of the inwarde partes of man and woman” is recorded in the register of the Company of Stationers of London (A Transcription of the Register of the Company of stationers of London, 1555-1640 A.D., London 1875, vol. 1, pp. 90a-91a). It is registered under the name of Gilles Godet, based in the Blackfriars. He was yet a French protestant who set in London
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Johannes Van Vliet ca. 1605 – Leyden – 1668 Old Woman reading or The Prophetess Anna Etching and engraving on laid paper, ca. 1631 Plate 279 x 225 mm Reference Hollstein 18, 2nd state of three Provenance John Barnard (Lugt 1419: “Les feuilles provenant de sa collection sont toujours du meilleur choix, tant comme qualité que comme conservation”); Friedrich Quiring (Lugt 1041c: “Elles [the marks] figurent seulement sur les meilleures feuilles”)
It is worth mentioning the exceptional provenance, i.e. John Barnard, certainly one of the best connoisseurs that the history of print collecting has known. His Rembrandt prints collection was of the highest quality. Rare.
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Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione ca. 1600 – Genoa – 1665 The Discovery of the bodies Etching and drypoint printed on laid paper, ca. 1647-51 Plate 300 x 205 mm Reference Bartsch XXI, p. 17, no. 14; Percy E21; Bellini 57, only state Provenance John Barnard (Lugt 1419); Private collection, France
A very fine impression, with much light shining. Same distinguished provenance as the previous number, Van Vliet’s Old Woman reading.
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Giovanni Battista Piranesi 1720 Mogliano Veneto – Rome 1778 The Drawbridge, plate VII of the Carceri d’Invenzione Etching, engraving, scratching on laid paper, ca. 1749-51 Plate 561 x 415 mm Reference Robison 33, 1st state of six, from the first edition (three issues, 1749-60)
The quintessence of the Carceri pure etching. A extremely fine impression, with no ink dabbing often seen on impression of the third issue of the first edition, on the right side of base of the spiked instrument. With traces of tone close to the left bridge. Very rare.
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Pierre Subleyras 1699 Saint-Gilles-du-Gard – Rome 1749 The Meal at the house of Simon Etching on laid paper, 1738 Plate 235 x 605 mm Reference Dumesnil 3, 3rd state of five Provenance François Heugel (Lugt 3373)
Inspired by Veronese’s monumental compositions, the scene illustrates the Last Supper at the house of Simon, focused on Mary Magdalene washing Christ’s feet while the other guests are surprised by the incident. Subleyras successfully represented his figures in the deliberate realism of a scene taken from daily life. This well-balanced composition testifies of the influence of Nicolas Poussin. He demonstrated in this work a very personal vision where he achieved to insert, in a large composition, an intimate atmosphere. The print reflects the value of reproduction prints of the time; how they managed to increase the diffusion of paintings and the artist’s name. It also enabled the artists to express their talent and to pay tribute to former masters. This print has always been highly appraised; however impressions before the final state are very uncommon although they are actually much nicer and sharper. Rare.
This is the most important print by Subleyras, completed after his own painted masterpiece, now at the Louvre and originally commissioned for the monastery of Asti, Piemont. The print was actually made from the preliminary oil sketch dedicated to the Duc de Saint-Aignan, also now kept at the Louvre. The print has the same size as the sketch, which is a nearly 1/10 scale study of the Asti work, with some minor variants. This print highly contributed to the recognition of the talent of Subleyras in Rome and Paris. The artist had studied in Toulouse and in Paris from 1726 until 1728. Afterwards, he spent the rest of his career in Italy where, as one of the most renowned foreign artist in Rome, he was commissioned numerous religious paintings which ornamented buildings in the city and in the country, including this one. The sketch for its part was in the Natoire sale in 1778 and fetched the highest price at the sale and was later bought by the King Louis XVI.
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Adrian Zingg 1734 St. Gallen – Leipzig 1816 The Elbe River at Aussig with the Ruins of Castle Schreckenstein Outline etching with traces of aquatint and brown wash on wove paper, ca. 1790 With the artist’ stamp in the upper-right corner Plate 277 x 376 mm Literature Sabine Weisheit-Possél, Adrian Zingg (1734-1816): Landschaftsgraphik zwischen Aufklärung und Romantik, 2010, pp. 120 and 416; Adrian Zingg. Wegbereiter der Romantik, Kupferstich-Kabinett Sandfstein Verlag Dresden, Zurich, 2012, p. 146, no. 39 (for a drawing in upright format showing the castle) Provenance Private collection, Belgium (found in an album with seven Caspar David Friedrich drawings and other artists from Dresden and around)
of the ruins of Schloss Schreckenstein, located at the top of the Klingenstein; a monumental rock above the Elbe River near Aussig in northern Bohemia. A small drawing of the view was made during the artist’s tour in the 1780s (Kupferstich-Kabinett Dresden: see cat. Dresden/Zurich, p. 147). The castle ultimately became very popular among the Romantics artists and musicians. Superb and impressive sheet.
As a Romantic pioneer, Adrian Zingg views through Saxony and Bohemia are among the earliest romantic landscapes and established a model for the next generation of the Dresden Romantics. He produced numerous of outline etchings meticulously colored in monochrome washes by him and/or the studio, very often sold as souvenir to tourist and for this reason rare to find in fine condition and with no exposure to light. The present sheet depicted a view
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Jacques-Louis David 1748 Paris – Brussels 1825 L’Armée des Cruches George III leading an army of jugs Etching and engraving with hand-colored watercolor on laid paper, 1794 Plate 300 x 498 mm Reference De Vinck 4391 Provenance Private collection, France
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The British Museum has two impressions described as follow: “English soldiers (‘2’), whose bodies are formed of earthenware pitchers, march with precision in two ranks on very thin legs. They wear high caps like elongated beehives, and have two standards: a (?) pig’s head wearing a French crown, a small castle surmounted by a fool’s head in cap and bells. Both are on long poles. Their leader is George III (‘1’), who marches in front, having a similar body but with very thick legs in jack-boots. He wears a night-cap, has ass’s ears, and is led by a turkey-cock (Pitt, ‘3’) in whose mouth strings are attached to the King’s nose. An advanced guard (‘7’) on the left, wearing helmets, lies shattered, the pitchers are broken, and from them emerge snakes, toads, and rats. One man who stands without his pitcher has a body composed of a long neck or tube attached to two thin legs. The cause of the damage is the excrement which strikes them from the posteriors of four French sans-culottes (‘6’) who squat on the top of a massive but ruined (Roman) archway. A row of five large clyster-pipes mounted on guncarriages (‘9’) is in the middle distance; on one of these sit three jockeys. Behind the troops (right) a goose (‘8’) wearing a hat (Fox) bestrides a man, who walks with his hands touching the ground, a trumpet issuing from his posteriors.”
Lettered with heading and nine numbered captions: “N° I. George Roi d’Angleterre commande en personne l’élite de son Armée Royal-Cruche N° 2. II est conduit par son Ministre Pitt ou Milor Dindon N° 3 qui le tient par le Nez pour mieux lui prouver son attachement. L’avant-Garde de la Royal Armée N° 4. reçoit un échec à la porte de la Ville N° 5, qui est occasioné par la colique de quelques Sans-Culottes placés au haut de la Porte N° 6. L’avant-Garde dans sa défaite brise les cruches, dont il ne sort que toutes sortes de Bêtes venimeuses N° 7, qui est l’esprit qui les animes [sic]. Fox ou Milord Oie N° 8 ferme la marche monté sur sa Trompette Angloise et qui témoin de l’échec sonne un rappel en arriere [sic] par prudence. Artillerie Angloise nouvelle N° 9 qui a la vertu d’éteindre les incendies et de délaïer les fortifications.” This untitled and very rare caricature above an “Explication” is one of two pieces that David was commissioned to produce by the Committee of Public Safety in the autumn of 1793. On 27 March 1794, David presented to the Committee “two caricatures of his composition, one showing an army of jugs, commanded by George, led by a turkey, the other representing the English government in the form of a wild and horrible figure, dressed in all his royal insignia.” On 18 May 1794 it ordered 1000 impressions, half in colour, at a cost of 3000 livres, although it is a very rare plate to find nowadays (see Claudette Hould, “La propagande de l’état par l’estampe durant la terreur” in Les images de la Révolution française, Paris, 1988, pp. 29-37).
In fine condition apart from some thread margins. Architectural ink drawings on the verso and a little ink showing through in the title area.
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Rodolphe Bresdin 1822 Montrelais – Sèvres 1885 Le Bon Samaritain Lithograph printed on yellowish Chine laid down on a gray Chine appliqué on wove paper, 1861 Plate 560 x 441 mm Reference Van Gelder 100, only state, from the September 1867 printing at Lemercier on double Chine papers Literature David Becker, “Rodolphe Bresdin’s Le Bon Samaritain”, Nouvelles de l’Estampe, nos. 70-71 (1983), pp. 43-46
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François-Nicolas Chifflart 1825 Saint-Omer – Paris 1901 Improvisations sur cuivre, a set of fifteen plates Etchings on laid paper, 1865 Sheets 446 x 308 mm Literature Valérie Sueur, François Chifflart. Graveur et Illustrateur, Paris, Dossier du Musée d’Orsay, 1993, no. 5 to 19, pp. 56-57 Provenance Private collection, France
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The plates according to the order of the set at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France are:
Awarded the Prix de Rome in 1852, history painter par excellence, Chifflart strays from the academic route with his wild independence. Revealing a romantic character and a visionary sensitivity, he was praised by Baudelaire and Théophile Gautier, earned Hugo’s friendship and later, won the admiration of Rodin and Laforgue. This artistic personality, swaying between a traditional education and a romantic spirit, can be seen here in the fifteen plates of Improvisations. In the Frontispice, François Chifflart represents himself buried alive. Under this allegorical figure of Temps, he appears crushed by the weight of his own coffin and in a certain way, by the marginal fate of his name. Like many reminiscences of his academic training, the mythological and antique scenes (Triomphe de la justice et de la vérité and Persée et Andromède) hold a particular place alongside more intimate allegories that reveal his personal ideas (Le Diable d’argent).
Frontispice Le Triomphe de la Justice et de la Vérité Les Vendanges Le Génie des Arts Académie d’homme La Méditation Le choléra sur Paris Surprise Persée et Andromède Persée Diane et ses nymphes Feuille de croquis Carrière près de Montmarte Le Diable d’Argent
Beside a more realist view, such as Carrières près de Montmartre, we discover a romantic composition, in the manner of Delacroix, titled Surprise. It figures the striking attack of wild animals on some knights. The originality of Chifflart is expressed further within the visual peculiarity of Choléra sur Paris, an overhanging view of the city dominated by a sky full of cadavers, and with the plate entitled Persée where a man is represented holding, at arm’s length, the bleeding head of Medusa.
A very rare complete set of the fifteen plates including two copies of the Frontispiece, one on laid paper, and the other one printed on a full wrapping paper. According to Sueur, a record exists of two sets lost (one during the 2nd World War) and nine sets within private and public collections including the Museum des Beaux Arts in Arras, Hôtel Sandelin in Saint-Omer, the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, the Royal Library in Brussels, the British Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Public Library in New York, and the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles.
The undeniable eclectism of the subject matters, does not jeopardise the harmony of the whole which finds its unity in the assurance of its technique. Along with Bresdin and Meryon, François-Nicolas Chifflart belonged to the group of painters-engravers that brought a new life to romanticism and predicted symbolism in France. In 1863 the critic Girard de Rialle wrote “Romanticism isn’t dead, it’s transforming!”
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Edgar Degas 1834 – Paris – 1917 Marguerite de Gas, the Artist’s Sister Heliogravure of the 2nd state printed on laid paper, ca. 1860-62 Plate 138 x 104 mm Watermark MBM Reference see Reed and Shapiro 14, IIa Provenance Atelier Degas; his sale, Paris, 22-23 november 1918, part of no. 27; Private collection, France.
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A fine and extremely rare impression of the heliogravure after the original second state. Until recently, the latter was only known from this plate, and from an illustration in Delteil that referred to a lost copy (that finally came up for sale at Christie’s London in September 2013). Reed and Shapiro only knew two impressions of the heliogravure. One at the INHA (Paris) and another in the Huguette Berès collection, to which we can add an impression sold at Christie’s London in March 2006 (£7,200 with premium), and the present one. A total of four then, all printed in brown ink. It seems they all have the same watermark, also found on the lithographs After the Bath, the 3rd and the large version (R&S 6566). The photomechanical process in theory gives less nuances in printing but in this case it gives the second state a very fine accuracy, although it requested a retouching by hand. The reason why Degas ordered a heliogravure during the process remains mysterious. It might have been upon the request of a friend or a fellow heliogravure-maker, but he certainly approved of it in his lifetime as the four impressions recorded were found in his studio after his death. It testifies an expected interest from Degas for a process more and more used by painters and printmakers to reproduce or interpret their own works. Marguerite was the artist’s younger sister, born in 1842. In 1865 she married the architect Henri Fèvre and moved to Buenos Aires, where she died in 1895.
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Henry Somm 1844 Rouen – Paris 1907 Elegant woman getting ready, a set of eight plates Drypoints printed on laid paper, ca. 1880 Each plate signed or monogrammed, annotated and numbered in pencil Plates 178 x 125 mm Provenance Private collection, France
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This is an oustanding set of eight proofs of the famous Somm’s Elégante s’apprêtant à sortir, from the first to the final state. Henry Somm’s prints has become scarce and notably his individual plates published in small numbers. Through the eight states, we can follow the evolution of the plate. They enable us to observe the corrections directly added to the sheet by the artist’s hands. A true immersion into Somm’s creative process and the revival of the etching process from the 1860’s.
enriched his sheets with amusing sketches, such as on our sixth state showing drawings and caricatures surrounding the print. The multiplication of states in late 19th century French engraving is a fascinating question. Following Rembrandt’s tradition, Bracquemond defended from early 1860’s a new status for printmakers and the valorization of their work during multiple states. Artists such as Manet or Degas embraced this new trend and produced an important number of states, each one expressing their creativity and a subject by-itself. Degas reached more than 20 states for some plate, all different and with their own personality. Sometimes the additions are so radical that the new version becomes a new composition all together.
By producing eight very distinctive states Henry Somm expressed here the rediscovered freedom acquired by the engravers of the time. Illustrating his favorite subject, the elegant and typical Parisian woman, these prints also testify of the impact of Japanese art. Apart from the simplification of form and the decorative effects, Somm was particularly attracted by the humorous quality of Japanese prints. The artist regularly
An extremely rare set.
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Henri-Charles Guérard 1846 – Paris – 1897 The four dead Ravens Drypoint printed on laid paper, before 1887 Signed with pencil in the plate bottom right H.Guérard and monogrammed (Lugt 3481) bottom center Plate 216 x 255 mm Reference Bertin 323, only state Provenance Private collection, USA
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Charles-Louis-Marie Houdard 1855 – Neuilly-sur-Seine – 1931 Frogs and Reeds Etching and aquatint on wove paper, 1894 Signed on the lower right in pencil Ch. Houdard; with his stamp on the lower right of the plate (Lugt 555a) Plate 140 x 216 mm Watermark …on & Mongolfier - Vidalon-les-Annonay - ancne manufre Canso… Reference Inventaire du fonds français 3-2, only state Literature Dennis Cate and Marianne Grivel, From Pissarro to Picasso, Color Etching in France, Flammarion, Paris, 1992, p. 187
One of the most desirable late 19th century Japonism color prints by Charles-Louis-Marie Houdard. It is extremely rare, the total edition usually comprises no more than twenty-five impressions approximately, and as far as we are aware of, there are no more than eleven impressions recorded. The artist
started making prints in color in 1894; the pendant of this plate, Frogs and Iris, was published in L’Estampe Original. The following year, the present plate and Capucines, were shown at the Salon, both from Japonism inspiration. Stunning.
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Ker-Xavier Roussel 1867 Lorry-lès-Metz – L’Etang-la Ville 1897 The Potato peeler Lithograph printed in black on a gray laid paper, 1893 Plate 195 x 155 mm Reference Salomon 2, only state Provenance Private collection, France
Extremely rare, especially printed on a gray paper.
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Paul Signac 1863 – Paris – 1935 Application du Cercle Chromatique de Mr. Charles Henry Program of the 5th Night at the Théâtre Libre. Thursday 31st January 1889 Color lithograph on thick paper, 1888 Image 161 x 184 mm Reference Kornfeld 4, only state
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Augustus Edwin John 1878 Tenby – Fordingbridge 1961 Portrait of the Artist: Tête Farouche Etching on laid paper with a partial watermark, ca. 1906 Signed lower center Augustus John in black ink Plate 218 x 175 mm Reference Campbell Dodgson 10, the 2nd (final) state, with much inking left on the plate
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Index of artist names Bresdin, Rodolphe Castiglione, Giovanni Benedetto Chifflart, François-Nicolas David, Jacques-Louis Degas, Edgar Guérard, Henri-Charles Houdard, Charles-Louis-Marie John, Augustus Edwin Monogrammiste R.S Piranesi, Giovanni Battista Roussel, Ker-Xavier Signac, Paul Somm, Henry Subleyras, Pierre Van Vliet, Johannes Zingg, Adrian
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Catalogue entries
Eric Gillis Noémie Goldman Andrea Carlino Design
Arthur Calame, Brussels Printed by
Impressor Pauwels Sprl., in Brussels in May 2015 Translation/Editing
Priscilla Adade-Helledy Jean-Marie Gillis
Photographs
L’Atelier de l’Imagier, Brussels Photogravure
Olivier Dengis, Mistral Bvba Special thanks (by alphabetical order) to Antoine Cahen, Marie-Pierre Colas, Bernard Derroitte, Melissa Hughes, Dominique Le Jeune, Jawad Maher, Didier Martinez, Mathieu Néouze, Marie-Astrid Neulens, Diane Stordiau. © Eric Gillis Fine Art – June 2015
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Eric Gillis FinE Art t +32 2 503 14 64 W www.eg-fineart.com M info@eg-fineart.com 14, rue aux laines | 1000 Brussels | Belgium