Charles Emile Jacque’s etching, “Troupeau de Porcs” (Herd of Pigs), 1850

Charles Émile Jacque (aka Charles Jacque; Charles-Emile Jacque) (1813–1894)

“Troupeau de Porcs” (Herd of Pigs), 1850, Plate 11 from the series “20 sujets composés et gravés à l'eau-forte par Ch. Jacques”

Etching on chine collé on thick laid paper lined onto a conservator’s support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 24.9 x 34.4 cm; (plate) 16.3 x 24.5 cm; (chine collé) 15.4 x 23.4 cm; (image borderline) 14.6 x 22.8 cm

Signed and dated on the plate at upper right: “Ch. Jacque 1850”

Numbered on the plate below the image borderline at left: “11”

This state, with the plate number, is not recorded by Guiffrey.

Guiffrey 1866 92 (undescribed state) (J-J Guiffrey [Mlle Lemaire, Éditeur] 1866, “L'Oeuvre de Charles Jacque: catalogue de ses eaux-fortes et pointes seches”, Paris, p. 65); IFF 239 (Inventaire du Fonds Français: Bibliothèque Nationale, Département des Estampes, Paris, 1930)

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Landscape with on the right a man brandishing a stick, herding pigs to the left; with plate number. 1850 Etching on chine collé”

(http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3501139&partId=1&searchText=jacque+Guiffrey+92&page=1 )

Condition: richly inked, crisp and well-printed impression with full margins as published in pristine condition (i.e. there are no tears, abrasions, holes, folds, stains or foxing). The sheet has been laid upon a fine washi paper conservator’s support sheet.

I am selling this masterpiece capturing the spirit of rural France executed by one of the pivotal artists of the Barbizon School for AU$161 (currently US$123/EUR105.53/GBP93.94 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this remarkable print revealing in its bold organisation of light and shadow the artist’s indebtedness to Rembrandt, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold

Sometimes I wonder if I should say anything at all about a print and simply let it “speak” for itself, but then the thought occurs to me that everyone sees what is in front of them with slightly different eyes and so I thought I might as well share my view of this print.

For me this print has impact. What I mean by this almost “throw away” observation is that Jacque has simplified what must have been a plethora of information with each pig literally screaming for attention and only kept the visual essentials to focus upon. For instance, I see a big separation in the pig herd between those pigs in the light—the ones on the left—and those in shadow—the ones on the right. This bold differentiation of pigs in light and pigs in shadow separated by the herdsman waving his stick, makes me think of Rembrandt and his “Hundred Guilder Print” (a title based solely on the fact that it cost that much in Rembrandt’s day) in that Christ is portrayed at the visual fulcrum between the relatively healthy folk shown in the light on his right and the bevy of predominantly incapacitated folk in shadow on his left.