Jules Armand Hanriot, “Les Orientales, XIX: Sara la Baigneuse”, 1880, after Charles Voillemot

Jules Armand Hanriot (1853–1930)

“Les Orientales, XIX: Sara la Baigneuse” (The Orientals, XIX: Sara the Bather), 1880

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching printed in a cool black ink with plate tone on wove paper.

This print is from the set of seven plates published in 1880 in the French art periodical “L’Artiste”. The composition is after the design by the French Salon painter and draughtsman, Charles Voillemot (also known as André Charles Voillemot) (1823–1893). The subject depicted illustrates Poem XIX, “Sara la baigneuse” (Sara the Bather), from Victor Hugo’s seminal 1829 poetry collection, “Les Orientales.”

Hugo's Les Orientales was highly influential in launching the Orientalist movement in French art, transposing classical themes into a dreamy, exoticised view of the East. The specific poem describes a young woman, Sara, idly swinging on a hammock (or swing) over a cool fountain pool while contemplating her reflection. Hugo's vivid, rhythmic verses inspired countless 19th-century masters—including Hector Berlioz (who set it to music) and visual artists like Henri Fantin-Latour and, as is the case here, Charles Voillemot’s design interpreted by Hanriot.

The sheet is in excellent condition—completely free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, or significant stains. There is only faint, negligible toning in the lower right margin, well away from the image border.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 25.2 x 15.4 cm
• Platemark: 18 x 11.9 cm
• Image borderline: 16.2 x 10.2 cm

In-Plate lettering:

• Lower left corner: “J. Hanriot d’ap[rès] Voillemot” (J. Hanriot after Voillemot)

References:

• IFF 10 (Jean Adhémar, et al., “Inventaire du Fonds Français après 1800: GUILLAUME–HUMBERT”, vol. 10, 1958, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, p. 114, cat. no. 10) — Available via Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Gallica): https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5489209c/f126.item  
• Les Musées de la Ville de Paris (Maison de Victor Hugo): Inventory Number 2017.0.3072— https://www.parismuseescollections.paris.fr/fr/maison-de-victor-hugo/oeuvres/les-orientales-xix-sara-la-baigneuse-6#infos-principales

Price & Shipping:

AU$236 (approximately US$169.85 / €145.80 / £125.05, subject to daily exchange rates). Price includes worldwide express shipping. Please note that destination import duties and local taxes remain the sole responsibility of the buyer.

If you’re interested in acquiring this inventive depiction of “indolent beauty” (belle d'indolence) praised in Hugo’s text into this dreamy jewel of an etching, please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I’ll gladly provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless transaction.