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

Saturday, 6 June 2026

Miquel Segui i Riera, “La Lecture”, 1887, after Mariano Fortuny

Miquel Segui i Riera (1858–1923)

“La Lecture” (The Reading), 1887, etching after Mariano Fortuny (also known as Mariano José María Bernardo Fortuny y Marsal and Mariano José María Bernardo Fortuny y Carbo) (1838–1874)

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on buff wove paper with wide margins professionally conserved with a washi paper support sheet.

This original etching is a translation of Mariano Fortuny’s pen and ink drawing, “A Gentleman Reading”, which is preserved in the permanent collection of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (https://artuk.org/discover/artists/fortuny-y-marsal-mariano-jose-maria-bernardo-18381874). The print belongs to a celebrated series of reproductive etchings after Fortuny's paintings and drawings. It was published in Barcelona in 1887 by the Centro Editorial Artístico de Torres y Seguí—a premium publishing house founded by the printmaker himself, Miquel Seguí i Riera. The plate was issued as a luxury full-page insert for Francesc Miquel i Badia’s definitive biographical and critical monograph, “Fortuny: su vida y obras: estudio biográfico-crítico”. The complete archival volume may be viewed via the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Digital Repository (https://ddd.uab.cat/record/72609), with this specific plate reproduced directly here: https://ddd.uab.cat/pub/llibres/1887/72609/fortuny_a1887@mnac_75.jpg

The impression is crisp, strong and well-printed. Aside from minor creases in the margin at lower right that are supported by the backing sheet, the etching is in excellent condition free of tears, holes, losses, abrasions or stains.

Note: The British Museum holds a photomechanical photogravure of Fortuny’s composition lettered “Photogravure Goupil & Cie. - Fac simile”—see https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1874-0711-2838. Unlike Goupil's purely mechanical transfer, Seguí i Riera’s version is a true hand-etched translation. He manually worked the copper plate with an etching needle to recreate Fortuny's vibrant cross-hatching, adding a facsimile “Fortuny” signature to credit the master's original design.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 31.8 x 23.9 cm
• Platemark: 21.7 x 14.8 cm
• Image borderline: 17.8 x 12.3 cm

In-Plate Lettering:

• Below the image borderline at lower centre: “La Lectura”
• Within the image borderline at lower right: “Fortuny”

Price & Shipping:

AU$247 (approx. US$174.13 / €151.06 / £130.57), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if applicable) are the buyer’s responsibility.

To acquire this finely executed translation of Fortuny’s drawing into etched line, please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I’m happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a smooth, protected transaction.

This print has been sold