Gallery of prints for sale

Sunday 12 May 2019

Anders Zorn, “Rosita Mauri”, 1889


Anders Zorn (aka Anders Leonard Zorn) (1860–1920)

“Rosita Mauri”, 1889, after Zorn’s painting of the same composition (1889), published in the “Gazette des Beaux-Arts” (1891) in an edition of 1,525 impressions, printed by L Eudes (fl.1876-88).

Etching with plate tone and retroussage(?)—a technique of dragging ink from the etched lines of the freshly inked printing plate with a soft cloth prior to printing—on cream wove paper with margins as published.
Size: (sheet) 27.5 x 18.8; (plate) 23.6 x 15.8 cm; (image borderline) 22 x 14.4 cm.
Inscribed within the image: (lower right) “Zorn ‘89”
Lettered below the image borderline: (lower left) “Zorn del. & sc.”; (lower centre) “ROSITA MAURI”; (lower right) “Gazette des Beaux-Arts. / Imp. Eudes”
State iv (of v)

Delteil 34 IV(V); Asplund 34; Hjert 27

The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers a description of this print (in its third state):
See also the description offered by AffordableArt101:

Condition: crisp and well-printed impression with full margins (as published), in excellent/near pristine condition—there is slight unevenness in the colour of the paper—backed with a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper.

Note: This is the second copy of “Rosita Mauri” that I have posted (the previous copy has been sold).

I am selling this iconic etching by Zorn for a total cost of AU$405 (currently US$283.75/EUR252.57/GBP218.13 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this very important print epitomising the Belle Époque in Paris, 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


This is one of Zorn’s most famous etchings. The subject is the prima ballerina, Rosita Mauri (aka Roseta Mauri y Segura; María Isabel Amada Antonia Rosa Mauri Segura) (1850–1923). Rosita is not only famous for her reputation as dancer of international standing, but also as a model for many artists—notably Degas—during the golden age of Parisian life: La Belle Époque (1871–1914).

What I find interesting about this print, beyond the stylish virtuosity of the angled strokes, is Zorn’s use of what may be described as faux white Chinese calligraphy to suggest the fabric pattern on Rosita’s dress. Not only do these white/“negative” strokes reveal Zorn’s resourcefulness in merging Oriental aesthetics with Occidental tastes, but the marks also exhibit the sensitivity of his approach to drawing in that they visually “slow down” the slippery course of the angled hatched lines.

Zorn makes drawing seem so easy but behind his technical ease is deep knowledge about the craft—note for example his skill in suggesting the silhouette edges of forms without drawing outlines and his ability to suggest colour through the juxtaposition of different qualities of line.










2 comments:

  1. wonderful post and beautiful detail pictures. thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's very kind of you ... thank you!

    ReplyDelete

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