Eugène Burney, “Portrait de Monseigneur de Ségur”, 1881, after Ferdinand Gaillard

Eugène Burney (aka François Eugène Burney) (1845–1907)

“Portrait de Monseigneur de Ségur” (Louis-Gaston de Segur), 1881, pencil-signed proof-state impression before lettering with publication details (see published state: https://www.printsandprinciples.com/2016/07/edward-francis-burneys-etching-portrait.html), with a signed dedication by the artist to Monsieur Couston, after a painting by Ferdinand Gaillard (1834-1887).

Etching on fine laid (China) paper pencil-signed by the artist with a dedication.

Size: (uneven sheet) 35.8 x 27.2 cm; (plate) 32.9 x 24 cm; (image) 29.9 x 21.8 cm

Inscribed with a pencil signed dedication by Burney (lower right): “A Monsieur Couston/ hommage de l'auteur/ [Eugène] Burney” (To Mr. Couston, homage from the author, Eugène Burney).

The British Museum offers the following description of this print in its later published state: “Portrait of Louis Gaston de Ségur, half-length to front, hands folded, against a dark background; published in "L'Art", 1881/ Etching” (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1882-0211-267).

The British Museum also gives the following biographical details about the sitter of the portrait, Louis Gaston de Ségur (1820–1881): “Priest; envoy to Rome but had to return to France after becoming blind, 1856, and devoted his life to charity; son of novelist Sophie Rostopchine, Countess of Ségur” (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG239686).

Condition: a richly inked and well-printed impression in an excellent condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions or significant stains (there is unevenness of tone in the margin).

I am selling this exceptionally rare pencil-signed proof-state etching exhibiting the highest order of technical skill, for a total cost of AU$302 (approx. US$196.67, EUR 167.27, or GBP 146.52). Global express shipping is included. Import duties, if any, are the buyer's responsibility.

If you are interested in purchasing this strong image of a man clenching his fist in determination—perhaps in dealing with his debilitating blindness—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

Eugene Burney, “Portrait of Pope Innocent X”, 1884, after Velázquez

Eugene Burney (aka Burney, François Eugène) (1845–1907)

“Portrait of Pope Innocent X” (aka “Portrait d'Innocent X”), 1884, after Diego Velázquez’s (aka Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez) (1599–1660) painting (c.1650) of the same name (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Innocent_X), in the Galleria Doria Pamphilj (Rome), printed by Charles Chardon (1832–1896) and published in Paris in the art periodical, “Gazette des Beaux Arts” (1st January, 1884), inserted between pages 22 and 23.

Engraving on chine collé on wove paper, trimmed with a small margin around the image borderline and writing edge and backed with a support sheet providing wide margins.

Size: (sheet) 23.4 x 17.9 cm; (image borderline) 19.4 x 14.9 cm.

Lettered in plate below the image borderline: (left) Velasquex pinx/ Gazette des Beaux-Arts”; (centre) “PORTRAIT D'INNOCENT X/ (Galerie Doria à Rome.); (right) “Burney sc./ Imp. Ch. Chardon”.

State xii (of xii) Published (lettered) state. I understand that this print passed through eleven states prior to the final lettered state and Beraldi advises: (transl.) “The head is visible on the first, it is erased on the next two; it reappears in the fourth” (p. 37).

Beraldi 7 (Henri Béraldi 1886, “Les Graveurs du XIXe Siècle: Guide de l'Amateur d'Estampes Modernes: BRASCASSAT – CHÉRET”, vol. IV, Paris, Librairie L. Conquet, p. 37, cat. no. 7); IFF 8 (Jean Laren 1942, “Inventaire du Fonds Français après 1800”, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Département des Estampes, vol. 3, p. 529, cat. no. 5 [see https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5488545z/f538]).

Condition: a strong and well-printed (faultless) impression, trimmed with a small margin around the image and writing edge and laid onto a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper providing wide margins.

I am selling this superb engraving after Velázquez’s famous portrait of the somewhat forbidding Pope Innocent X—a portrait made even more unforgettable in Francis Bacon’s haunting series of paintings of the Pope silently screaming—for AU$208 in total (currently/approximately US$137.36/ EUR127.33/ GBP109.40 at the time of this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries. Note that payment is in Australian dollars (AU$208) as this is my currency.

If you are interested in purchasing this exceptional engraving executed by a pupil of Ferdinand Gaillard (1834–1887)—one of the finest of engravers of 19^th century France—please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Note that Ferdinand Gaillard’s etching of Pope Leo XIII executed four years before Eugene Burney’s engraving is (surprisingly) currently still available: https://www.printsandprinciples.com/2023/06/ferdinand-gaillards-engraving-leon-xiii.html.

Ferdinand Gaillard’s portrait, “Monseigneur de Ségur”

Ferdinand Gaillard (aka Claude Ferdinand Gaillard) (1834-87)

“Monseigneur de Ségur” (Louis-Gaston de Segur), c1880

Etching on cream wove paper

An early proof before lettering

Size: (sheet) 26.5 x 22.8 cm; (plate) 12.6 x 10.3 cm

Condition: rich proof impression with wide margins in near pristine condition—there is a tiny mark on the left and lower margin.

I am selling this powerfully confident original etching by a master from the 19^th century for a total cost of [deleted] including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this amazing portrait where the artist has engaged in fully examining each bump on the Monseigneur’s face—an approach known as haptic in the sense that the artist portrays surfaces and forms like a blind person might “feel” them—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

For those who like to compare portraits of the same sitter by two different artists, this pair of images is revealing (the print on the right is discussed in the previous post). The left image, by Gaillard, shows the strength and confidence of a master draughtsman. By this I mean that each stroke is there for a reason. Gillard’s approach is what is commonly termed “haptic.” It is an approach driven for the artist’s interest in finding visual equivalents for expressing surfaces and forms like a blind person might “feel” the subject. As a consequence of this approach, each bump in Monseigneur’s face is like a battlefield of pits and bumps.

By comparison, the right image, by Burney— a masterly etched copy of Gaillard’s original painting—recreates in line the critical features that Burney observed in Gaillard’s painting. Although I would not suggest, even for an instant, that Burney’s portrait is not a psychological portrayal of the Monseigneur; after all, it is a hauntingly powerful study of a man with a commanding presence. Nevertheless, Gaillard’s portrait is fundamentally about portraying the facture and tone of Gaillard’s painted portrait.

In short, the essential differences of approach separating these two portraits is about:

-  Gaillard’s sensuous recreation of Monseigneur’s face by “finding” it using marks replicating the effects of physical touch, and

-  Burney’s mimetic replication of what he observed in the original painting of the Monseigneur.

Eugène Burney’s etching, “Portrait de Monseigneur de Ségur”, after Ferdinand Gaillard

Eugène Burney (aka François Eugène Burney) (1845–1907)

“Portrait de Monseigneur de Ségur” (Louis-Gaston de Segur), 1882, after a painting by Ferdinand Gaillard (1834-87), printed by Alfred Salmon (1863–1894; fl.)

Etching on fine cream laid paper

Size: (sheet) 41.6 x 29.4 cm; (plate) 32.9 x 23.5 cm; (image) 29.7 x 21.5 cm

Lettered below the image edge: (lower left) "Claude Ferdinand Gaillard pinx / L’Art"; (lower centre) “PORTRAIT DE MONSEIGNEUR DE SÉGUR”; (lower right) "E. Burney, sc. / Imp. A. Salmon."

The British Museum offers the following information about this print:

“Portrait of Louis Gaston de Ségur, half-length to front, hands folded, against a dark background; published in "L'Art"

(http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3719123&partId=1&searchText=E.+Burney+&page=1)

Condition: superb well-inked and well-printed impression in near pristine condition—there is a tiny mark towards the top-left of the margin.

I am selling this luminous print in superb condition that reflects the highest order of technical skill for a total cost of [deleted] including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this strong image of a man clenching his fist in determination—perhaps in dealing with his debilitating blindness—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

The British Museum offers the following information about Monseigneur de Ségur:

“Priest; envoy to Rome but had to return to France after becoming blind, 1856, and devoted his life to charity; son of novelist Sophie Rostopchine, Countess of Ségur.”

(http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId=214686)

Although I may be wrong, the clenched fist of Louis-Gaston de Segur (1820–81) in this portrait is not an insignificant detail. For me, knowing that the Monseigneur had become blind twenty-six years earlier, suggests that it is a symbol of this strong-willed person's resolute battle with his affliction.