Jean Jacques de Boissieu, “Le Grand Pont de Pierre”, 1799

Jean Jacques de Boissieu (aka Jean Jacques de Boissieux) (1736–1810)

“Le Grand Pont de Pierre” (The Great Stone Bridge), 1799

Etching with drypoint, engraving and roulette on heavy laid paper (possibly with a fine backing sheet). This is an impression taken in 1823 (based on the smudge/stain on the artist’s monogram at lower right that is an attribute of the print in its final state).

Size: (sheet) 41.2 x 52.3 cm; (platemark) 35.5 x 45.5 cm; (image borderline) 31.1 x 42 cm.

Inscribed in plate below the image borderline: (left) “1799.”; (right) “J. J. DB [ligature] 1799 [date inscribed very faintly]”.

State v (of v)

Perez 108 (Marie-Féliche Perez 1994, “L'Oeuvre gravé de Jean-Jacques de Boissieu”, Geneva, Éditions du Tricorne, pp. 238–39, cat. no. 108); IFF 108 (Département des Estampes 1930, “Inventaire du Fonds, Français: graveurs du XVIIe siècle”, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale).

See also the description of this print offered by the British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1853-0312-393. 

Condition: a richly inked and well-printed (near faultless) impression with wide margins. The sheet is unusually stiff/rigid suggesting that it may have a support of washi paper (but I am uncertain about this), nevertheless, the sheet is in an excellent condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions or significant stains.

I am selling this dramatically lit scene of what must have been a moment of everyday rural life happening around an ancient stone bridge in the late 1700s—the setting is possibly around Lyon in France where the artist worked—for AU$288 (currently US$187.56/EUR173.52/GBP148.39 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this magnificent etching, 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

Paul Borel’s etching, “Alpine Landscape Around Isère”, c1880

Paul Borel (aka André Marie Paul Borel) (1828–1913)

“Alpine Landscape Around Isère” (descriptive title only and forgive me if I am wrong about the location; the title proposed by the original dealer from whom I purchased this etching is “Paysage de Montagne” [Mountain Landscape]), c1880, a proof-state impression that is unsigned and before lettering with title and publication details, printed in cream chine collé on heavy wove paper.

Size: (sheet) 25.4 x 31.7 cm; (plate) 15.9 x 24 cm; (chine collé) 14.5 x 22.2 cm; (image borderline) 12.8 x 21.4 cm.

For those unfamiliar with this startlingly fine etcher (as exemplified in this wonderful etching), Paul Borel was introduced to etching by his cousin Jean Jacques de Boissieu (aka Jean Jacques de Boissieux) (1736–1810) and the outcome of this connection in terms of transferred skills is clear. Borel is also well-connected to the artists of the Barbizon School (notably Charles Daubigny [aka Charles François Daubigny] [1817–1878]) and the shared joy of working directly on the etching plate is also very apparent. What I find especially appealing about Borel’s etchings is the merging of informed observation of his chosen subject (e.g., his portrayed rocks look solid and “real” and the cascading of water is believable) with the added dimension of revealing a personal mindset—in this print, for instance, the formation of the rocks might be seen as nature’s claws and the pine trees on the right as expressions of upward moving transcendent energies. In lots of ways, this perfect merging of reality with personal response is the key that makes Borel a marvellous artist; an artist who (I think) compares well with Adolphe Appian (1818–1898).

Condition: a richly inked, strong, and near faultless impression in a near pristine condition.

I am selling this marvellous proof-state etching (unsigned and before lettering with title and publication details) that is so rare I have been unable to find another copy of it online, for the total cost of AU$269 (currently US$179.80/EUR162.68/GBP143.21 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this remarkably fine and luminous etching, 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

Jean Jacques de Boissieu’s etching and drypoint, “Eight Head Studies”, 1794/5

Jean Jacques de Boissieu (aka Jean Jacques de Boissieux) (1736–1810)

“Eight Head Studies” (aka “Sheet of Studies”; “Veuille d’Études”), 1794/5

Etching and drypoint on grey chine collé on laid paper.

Size: (sheet) 29.2 x 26 cm; (plate) 24.3 x 20 cm; (chine collé) 23.1 x 19.9 cm.

Inscribed in plate with the artist’s initials: (lower right) “J J. B.”

State iv (of iv)

Perez 96 (Marie-Féliche Perez 1994, “L'Oeuvre gravé de Jean-Jacques de Boissieu”, Geneva, Éditions du Tricorne, pp. 212–23, cat. no. 96iv); IFF 96 (Département des Estampes 1930, “Inventaire du Fonds, Français: graveurs du XVIIe siècle”, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale).

See also the description of this print offered by the British Museum from the same finished state: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1849-1208-502.

Condition: a richly inked and well-printed impression. Beyond light dustiness and a few small brown marks (ink?), the sheet in a good condition with no tears or significant stains.

I am selling this marvellous set of head studies—interestingly, the somewhat stern looking head projecting a “no nonsense” demur at the upper right is a portrait of the artist’s gardener—for AU$254 (currently US$167.23/EUR157.14/GBP138.94 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this insightfully executed page of head studies where each face projects (at least to my eyes) the sitter’s mindset at the time, 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

Jean Jacques de Boissieu’s etching with drypoint and roulette, “Les Pères du Désert”, 1797

Jean Jacques de Boissieu (aka Jean Jacques de Boissieux) (1736–1810)

“Les Pères du Désert” (The Desert Fathers), 1797, featuring the central figure modelled on Francisco de Zurbarán’s (1598–1664) painting, “St Francis” (1659), that de Boissieu owned at the time and later sold to the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Francis_(Francisco_de_Zurbar%C3%A1n). Lifetime impression of the 4^th state of 6 states.

Etching with drypoint and dot roulette on heavy wove paper backed with a support sheet.

Size: (support sheet) 59.5 x 42.6 cm; (sheet) 53.2 x 37 cm; (plate) 49.9 x 34.7 cm; (image borderline) 43.9 x 31.1 cm.

Inscribed in plate below the image borderline: (left [ligature initials]) “DB. 1797”; (centre) “Les pères du Desert”.

State iv (of vi) with the completion of the scratched title but before the addition of roulette work on the lit part of the brushwood and the shoulder of the reading monk.

Perez 103 iv (Marie-Féliche Perez 1994, “L'Oeuvre gravé de Jean-Jacques de Boissieu”, Geneva, Éditions du Tricorne, p. 228, cat. no. 103); IFF 103 (Département des Estampes 1930, “Inventaire du Fonds, Français: graveurs du XVIIe siècle”, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale).

See also the description of the 1823 restrike impression of this print held by the British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1853-0312-351.

Perez (1994) offers the following description of this print: (transl.) “In front of a dark grotto, formed by a rock lined with climbing plants, one notices, at the left corner, two trees, one of which, although splintered, is still adorned with branches which rise to the top of the print; the other is lost in the lateral square line, and we see only the healthy and vigorous trunk. On the right, a monk seated on some advancement of rock, at the entrance to the cave, is immersed in reading. His head is bare and the curls of his hair fall over his shoulders. His beard is long, his head rests on his right hand; a book is open on his knees: in front of him, a jug is placed on the ground, in the middle of the grass and brushwood in the foreground.  Finally, on the front, and emerging in light against the entrance of the cave, stands, motionless, a monk in ecstasy. He wears the dress of a Cordelier: a knotted rope serves as a belt; a hood hides the forehead and hair; his eyes are raised to the sky; his mouth is ajar; his hands are gathered on his chest, in the sleeves of his dress.

Everything in pose and expression indicates recollection. A bright light, coming from the right, illuminates the upper body of the monk in ecstasy, brings out this ascetic figure and contrasts with the shadows of the cave and this wild site” (p. 228).

Condition: a richly inked and well-printed early impression before the usual wear seen in later impressions. There are marks, flattened folds and tears in the margin and the sheet is laid upon a sheet of millennium quality washi paper providing wide margins.

I am selling this very strong (even magnificent!) impression of what I see as an intriguingly interesting etching, for AU$289 (currently US$186.77/EUR187.05/GBP162.95 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this large and superb etching worthy of close study, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Jean Jacques de Boissieu's etching, “L’Hiver, d’après un dessin fait à Saint-Chamond”, 1795

Jean Jacques de Boissieu (aka Jean Jacques de Boissieux) (1736–1810)

“L’Hiver, d’après un dessin fait à Saint-Chamond” (Winter, after a drawing by Saint-Chamond), 1795.

Etching with drypoint and roulette on buff-coloured chine collé on white wove paper trimmed with a small margin (approx. 1cm) around the platemark and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 29 x 22.3 cm; (plate)  27 x 20.5 cm;

(chine collé) 26.8 x 19.7 cm; (image borderline) 25.7 x 19.4 cm

Inscribed on plate with the artist’s initials below the image borderline: (right) “J.J.B.”

State iv (of iv) with the image borderline “connected to the upper right corner”—in the earlier state this corner is incomplete. Regarding this upper right corner, note that dotted marks left by the vice/tongs used for holding the plate are visible and similar marks may also be seen on the lower left corner.

Perez 1994 98.IV (Marie-Félicie Perez 1994, “L'Oeuvre gravé de Jean-Jacques de Boissieu”, Geneva, Éditions du Tricorne, p. 216); IFF 98.II (Département des Estampes 1930, “Inventaire du Fonds, Français: graveurs du XVIIe siècle”, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale).

Perez offers the following description of this print:

(Transl.) “On the bare ground which forms the first planes of the print, one sees an old tree trunk carrying some small branches without leaves: one of them goes up to the … [border] line of the top. A goat, seen in profile and turned to the right, is stopped in the middle of the landscape. In the lower right corner, a peasant, passing at the foot of the old tree, looks to the left at a group of six children who are warming themselves around a fire in the field, and whose smoke rises in column and blends with the clouds of a hazy sky. Further [away], two goats wander on a mound …. The aspect of this landscape is that of winter in the countryside” (p. 216).

See also the description offered by the British Museum:

https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3329860&partId=1&searchText=Boissieu+winter&page=1

Condition: Richly inked and near faultless chine collé impression with small margins laid upon a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper. The sheet is in excellent condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, foxing or signs of use).

I am selling this visually arresting landscape executed with great subtlety—note in particular the artist’s amazingly skill to suggest the weight, mass and rigidity of the grimly pollarded tree in the centre of the composition—for AU$210 in total (currently US$148.59/EUR132.59/GBP113.68 at the time of posting this print) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world (but not, of course, any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries).

If you are interested in purchasing this small but very strong print, 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