Prints and Principles

Most of the recent posts give details about individual prints and earlier posts discuss some of the subtle principles guiding artists in making images meaningful and memorable. For prints that are unsold, click "Items still available for sale" below. All other prints are no longer available. My contact email is oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com and my Instagram username is @printsandprinciples. I have created a separate blog to show my own work: https://printsandprinciplesjamesbrown.blogspot.com

Thursday, 19 February 2026

Charles François Daubigny, “Le Pré de Graves à Villerville (Calvados)”, 1875

Charles François Daubigny (1817–1878)
“Le Pré de Graves à Villerville (Calvados)” (also known as “The Meadow at Grave, near Villerville”), 1875

The site depicted in this etching is a meadow (pré) within Parc des Graves—a protected area of pastures near the cliffs of the Roches Noires - Pointe du Heurt, at the western entrance to the village of Villerville in the Calvados department of Normandy, France. Daubigny frequently depicted this landscape, populated with grazing cows and wild rabbits; in this view, there is also a distant vista of the Seine estuary (Baie de Seine).

Technical Details & Condition:
Etching on laid paper with full margins, as issued. This print appears as plate 3 in the art periodical “L’Illustration Novelle” (New Illustration), volume 8, published in Paris by the widow of Alfred Cadart (Vve A. Cadart) in 1876. It is one of the last four prints produced by Daubigny. This impression is from the fully lettered state published in 1876: state iii (of iii).

The impression is richly inked and faultlessly printed. The sheet is in pristine condition—free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, or handling marks.

Dimensions:
• Sheet: 33.1 x 44.6 cm
• Platemark: 15.9 x 24.1 cm
• Image borderline: 12.5 x 20.4 cm

Lettering on Plate:
• Upper right corner: “3”
• Below the image borderline: (left) “Daubigny del et sculp.”; (centre) “LE PRÉ DE GRAVES À VILLERVILLE (Calvados)”; (right) “V^ve A. Cadart. Edit. Imp. 56 B^ard Haussmann, Paris.”

References:
• Melot D 124 (Michel Melot, “Graphic Art of the Pre-Impressionists,” 1978, New York, Harry N. Abrams, p. 282, cat. no. D 124)
• British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1915-0105-14-76

Price & Shipping:
AU$297 (approximately US$208.99 / €177.75 / £155.48), including worldwide express shipping.
Please note: Import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this superb etching by one of the luminaries of the Barbizon School—representing one of the artist’s final etchings and capturing a sweeping view of the meadow at one of his favourite sites of inspiration in Normandy, France, complete with grazing cows and rabbits—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a smooth and seamless purchase.

This print has been sold