Portrait of Count Ludovic-Napoléon Lepic
| Reference: | S42253 |
| Author | Marcellin DESBOUTIN |
| Year: | 1876 |
| Measures: | 240 x 315 mm |
€2,500.00
| Reference: | S42253 |
| Author | Marcellin DESBOUTIN |
| Year: | 1876 |
| Measures: | 240 x 315 mm |
€2,500.00
Description
Portrait of Count Ludovic-Napoléon Lepic, large panel.
Example from the very rare fourth state of seven, before the addition of the painting depicting the dog on the wall, behind Lepic.
Drypoint, 1876, impressed sur Chine, with wide margins, in perfect condition.
Marcellin Desboutin devoted himself to painting, drawing and began to produce his first engravings, but he did so more as an amateur, without method and without concern for artistic judgment. After 17 years in Florence, Desboutin returned to Paris in 1872 and soon became an emblematic figure of the bohemian Montmartre. Among his early admirers was Degas, who immortalized him in 1875 with actress Ellen Andrée in his famous painting Dans un Café.
Among his many talents, engraving is undoubtedly the most notable art; Desboutin preferred drypoint, a technique in which he excelled and where he produced several masterpieces of the genre.
Edmond de Goncourt described him as follows in his diary: "With a sure and careful hand, he handles the point like a pen or a pencil, engraving the metal plate, most of the time without any preparatory study, in front of the living model. His talent as a portraitist is fully expressed here. His ability to grasp the psychology of the character he represents, combined with the spontaneity of his line, offers works of both great truth and sensitivity". The Goncourt portrait was published in 1875 and then presented with other etchings at the "Salon" of the same year.
Desboutin became an engraver sought after by all of Paris for his incisive and spontaneous portraits; the great bourgeois, collectors, art critics, men of letters and artists made up, under his lively and delicate touch, an impressive gallery of portraits of the celebrities of the late 19th century.
Ludovic Napoléon Lepic (1839-1889), was a French artist, archaeologist and patron of the arts. He had the great merit if not to invent a new technique, at least to find a singular formula to call it: movable engraving. Lepic himself explains his approach as an aquafortist in a treatise placed at the head of his album published in 1876 by Cadart: "I will engrave like a painter and not like an engraver". For him, the main operation is not the engraving of the plate but its printing, which, depending on how he inked and erased the matrix, obtained completely different effects. These variations in atmosphere place Lepic completely in the Impressionist movement.
Lepic's portrait can be indicated as one of the masterpieces of 19th century portraiture.
Magnificent example of this very rare edition.
Bibliografia
Hilaire-Noël Sébastien Clément dit CLÉMENT-JANIN, La curieuse vie de Marcellin Desboutin. Peintre – Graveur-Poète, Parigi, Henry Floury, 1922: n. 163, IV/VII; IFF, n. 4; Paul Prouté, Marcellin Desboutin, Parigi, 2016, nn. 108-110.
Marcellin DESBOUTIN (1823-1902)
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Marcellin Desboutin was born on August 26th, 1823 in Cérilly, a small town in the department of Allier, from a father of the landed bourgeoisie and a mother of noble origin, the Fargues de Rochefort.
From his earliest youth, he showed a predisposition for drawing and literature, so much so that he was long undecided between a career as a painter and one as a playwright and poet.
After a brilliant school education and studies in law, the young Desboutin entered the studio of the sculptor Etex in 1845, then in 1847 that of the painter Couture, where he became a long and deep friendship with Puvis de Chavannes. After the untimely death of his father, he was left a handsome fortune and traveled his artistic education visiting the Netherlands, England and Italy, where he finally settled around 1855 when he purchased the Ombrellino, a sumptuous villa on the heights of Florence. He spent 17 years of his life in Florence, with his wife and their daughter Marie, leading an expensive life, characterized by collecting antique paintings and receiving many guests, especially from the artistic and literary world.
He devoted himself to painting, drawing and began to produce his first engravings, but he did it more as an amateur, without method and without concern for artistic judgment. The beginning of the 1870's marked the end of this happy and carefree period. His wife died, and he was forced to sell the Ombrellino, to pay off debts incurred by bad investments. Remarried and a father again, Desboutin returned to Paris in 1872 and moved his family into a modest home on Montmartre Hill, soon becoming an emblematic figure of the Montmartre bohemian scene.
Among his early admirers was Degas, who immortalized him in 1875 with actress Ellen Andrée in his famous painting Dans un Café, also known as The Absinthe. Desboutin can be recognized there smoking a pipe, wearing a large, soft black felt hat, askew on a huge head of hair, a disheveled fleece of black curls.
Of his many talents, engraving is undoubtedly the most remarkable art. Remarkable; Desboutin preferred drypoint, a technique at which he excelled and where he produced several masterpieces of the genre.
Edmond de Goncourt described him as follows in his diary: "With a sure and careful hand, he handles the point like a pen or a pencil, engraving the metal plate, most of the time without any preparatory study, in front of the living model. His talent as a portraitist is fully expressed here. His ability to grasp the psychology of the character he represents, combined with the spontaneity of his line, offers works of both great truth and sensitivity". The Goncourt portrait was published in 1875 and then presented with other etchings at the "Salon" of the same year.
Desboutin became an engraver sought after by all of Paris for his incisive and spontaneous portraits; the great bourgeois, collectors, art critics, literati and artists made up, under his lively and delicate touch, an impressive gallery of portraits of the celebrities of the late 19th century.
In 1880, he moved to Nice with his wife and children, where he bought a beautiful villa near the Promenade des Anglais. Returning to Paris, he was made a knight of the Légion d'honneur in 1895, he retired permanently to Nice where he ended his days. He died on February 17, 1902.
Desboutin engraved with passion, constantly striving to perfect his art until he became a master in the use of drypoint. He mastered all his subtleties and resources, sometimes using and abusing barbs, drawing and not hesitating to "monotype" certain proofs.
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Marcellin DESBOUTIN (1823-1902)
|
Marcellin Desboutin was born on August 26th, 1823 in Cérilly, a small town in the department of Allier, from a father of the landed bourgeoisie and a mother of noble origin, the Fargues de Rochefort.
From his earliest youth, he showed a predisposition for drawing and literature, so much so that he was long undecided between a career as a painter and one as a playwright and poet.
After a brilliant school education and studies in law, the young Desboutin entered the studio of the sculptor Etex in 1845, then in 1847 that of the painter Couture, where he became a long and deep friendship with Puvis de Chavannes. After the untimely death of his father, he was left a handsome fortune and traveled his artistic education visiting the Netherlands, England and Italy, where he finally settled around 1855 when he purchased the Ombrellino, a sumptuous villa on the heights of Florence. He spent 17 years of his life in Florence, with his wife and their daughter Marie, leading an expensive life, characterized by collecting antique paintings and receiving many guests, especially from the artistic and literary world.
He devoted himself to painting, drawing and began to produce his first engravings, but he did it more as an amateur, without method and without concern for artistic judgment. The beginning of the 1870's marked the end of this happy and carefree period. His wife died, and he was forced to sell the Ombrellino, to pay off debts incurred by bad investments. Remarried and a father again, Desboutin returned to Paris in 1872 and moved his family into a modest home on Montmartre Hill, soon becoming an emblematic figure of the Montmartre bohemian scene.
Among his early admirers was Degas, who immortalized him in 1875 with actress Ellen Andrée in his famous painting Dans un Café, also known as The Absinthe. Desboutin can be recognized there smoking a pipe, wearing a large, soft black felt hat, askew on a huge head of hair, a disheveled fleece of black curls.
Of his many talents, engraving is undoubtedly the most remarkable art. Remarkable; Desboutin preferred drypoint, a technique at which he excelled and where he produced several masterpieces of the genre.
Edmond de Goncourt described him as follows in his diary: "With a sure and careful hand, he handles the point like a pen or a pencil, engraving the metal plate, most of the time without any preparatory study, in front of the living model. His talent as a portraitist is fully expressed here. His ability to grasp the psychology of the character he represents, combined with the spontaneity of his line, offers works of both great truth and sensitivity". The Goncourt portrait was published in 1875 and then presented with other etchings at the "Salon" of the same year.
Desboutin became an engraver sought after by all of Paris for his incisive and spontaneous portraits; the great bourgeois, collectors, art critics, literati and artists made up, under his lively and delicate touch, an impressive gallery of portraits of the celebrities of the late 19th century.
In 1880, he moved to Nice with his wife and children, where he bought a beautiful villa near the Promenade des Anglais. Returning to Paris, he was made a knight of the Légion d'honneur in 1895, he retired permanently to Nice where he ended his days. He died on February 17, 1902.
Desboutin engraved with passion, constantly striving to perfect his art until he became a master in the use of drypoint. He mastered all his subtleties and resources, sometimes using and abusing barbs, drawing and not hesitating to "monotype" certain proofs.
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