Auguste Léveillé’s wood engraving, “Eustache de Saint-Pierre”, after Rodin

Auguste Léveillé (aka Auguste Hilaire Léveillé) (1840–1900)

“Eustache de Saint-Pierre” (aka “Un des Bourgeois de Calais: Figure du monument érigé à Calais”), 1895, after Auguste Rodin’s (aka Pierre Auguste Rodin) (1840–1917) bronze, “Eustache de Saint-Pierre”, from the sculpture group, “The Burghers of Calais”, printed by Dradger et Lesieur (1886–c1908) and published in Paris in the “Gazette des Beaux-Arts”, 1895, opposite page 114 (see https://archive.org/details/gazettedesbeauxa314umass/page/n130/mode/2up).

The Rodin Musée offers a description of a related wood engraving of the same sculpture: https://collections.musee-rodin.fr/fr/museum/rodin/eustache-de-saint-pierre-les-bourgeois-de-calais-d-apres-rodin/G.08268.

Wood engraving printed on buff coloured wove paper with full margins as published.

Size: (sheet) 28 x 18.9 cm; (image borderline) 21.8 x 12.4 cm.

Inscribed in plate within the image borderline: (lower left) “A Leveille”.

Lettered below the image borderline: (left) Sculpté par A. Rodin/ Gazette des Beaux-Arts”; (centre) “UN DES BOURGEOIS DE CALAIS/ Figure du monument érigé à Calais” (One of the Burghers of Calais/ Figure from the monument erected in Calais); (right) “Gravé sur bois par Léveillé./ Imp. Dradger et Lesieur.”

Condition: a well-printed impression in pristine condition as published with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, foxing or signs of handling.

I am selling this finely executed wood engraving of Rodin’s bronze, “Eustache de Saint-Pierre”, from the famous sculpture group, “The Burghers of Calais”, for AU$176 (currently US$114.29/EUR113.52/GBP99.03 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 small and sensitively engraved tonal translation of Rodin’s sculpture into a web of fine lines, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Auguste Rodin's drypoint, "La Ronde", 1883–84

Auguste Rodin (aka Pierre Auguste Rodin) (1840–1917)

“La Ronde” (The Round), 1883–84, described as an original drypoint (viz. “La Ronde, pointe sèche originale, inédite, de A. Rodin”) in the table of contents of “L’Art et les Artistes”, 1905, in which this print was published.

Note: Victoria Thorson (1975) in her catalogue raisonné for Rodin’s graphics advises that Delteil (1905) describes this published impression as a heliogravure, but Thorson also gives the description of it as an original print as published by “L’Art et les Artistes” without clarifying whether the published print was an original or a heliogravure. When I examined this print through a loupe, I did not see the tell-tale honeycomb effect in the lines that would meet the description of a heliogravure. Consequently, until I can see this print under stronger magnification, I believe that this print is indeed an original drypoint. After reading the article, “Lord of the Dance”, posted by “Art of the Print”—a reputable print connoisseur whose opinion I value—addressing this print in its third state (see http://adventuresintheprinttrade.blogspot.com/2010/08/lord-of-dance.html), I feel confident about my view. My apologies if I am wrong.

Drypoint on cream laid paper with full margins as published as an original print by Rodin in “L’Art et les Artistes” in1905, inscribed on plate with the publication’s monogram, “AA” (Art and Artists) at lower right.

Size: (sheet) 29.7 x 21.1 cm; (plate) 22.6 x 17.6 cm.

Inscribed on plate with the publisher’s monogram at lower right: “AA

State iii (of iii) with plate bevelled at edges and the addition of the monogram (“AA”).

Thorson 1975 V3 (Victoria Thorson 1975, “Rodin Graphics, a Catalogue Raisonné of Drypoints and Book Illustration”, San Francisco, The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, p. 32, cat. no. V State Three) Delteil, no. 5, State iii/iii (Loys Delteil 1906–1926, “Le peintre-graveur illustre”. 31 vols. Paris: Published by the author, Reprint. New York: Collectors Editions, Da Capo Press, 1969. Vol. 30).

Master Works Fine Art Gallery offer a wealth of insights about this print: https://www.masterworksfineart.com/artists/auguste-rodin/etching/la-ronde-1883-1884/id/w-3349

See also a brief description offered by Affordable Art:

https://www.affordableart101.com/Auguste-Rodin-La-Ronde-original-drypoint-etching-p/8336.htm

Condition: well-printed faultless impression with wide margins (as published) in pristine condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, losses, abrasions, stains, foxing or signs of handling).

I am selling this small and delicately powerful drypoint from one of the greatest masters of the nineteenth century for AU$642 in total (currently US$440.63/EUR396.09/GBP336.33 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 acquiring this fluidly drawn scene where the loose treatment of the dancing figures almost "breathes" with their lively action, 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

Auguste Rodin's drypoint, “Antonin Proust”, 1884/8,

Auguste Rodin (aka Pierre Auguste Rodin) (1840–1917)

“Antonin Proust”, 1884/8, published by Roger Marx in “Auguste Rodin,” opp. 190, “Pan”, vol.III no.3, 1897, with publication details lettered lower left in the margin: “AUGUSTE RODIN, ANTONIN PROUST ORIGINALRADIERUNG PAN III 3.”

Drypoint on heavy cream wove paper (Japan) with large margins as published.

Size: (sheet) 37 x 27.9 cm; (plate) 23.7 x 17.7 cm

State V (of VII)

Delteil 10.V (Delteil, Loys, “Le Peintre-Graveur Illustré (XIXe et XXe siècles)”, 31 vols, Paris, 1902); Thorson 1975 X.5 (Thorson, Victoria, “Rodin Graphics, a catalogue raisonné of drypoints and book illustrations”, Fine Art Museums of San Francisco, 1975).

The British Museum offers a description of this print; see: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1346204&partId=1&searchText=rodin+proust&page=1

Condition: faultless impression with strong burr of the drypoint and with margins as published. The sheet is in excellent, museum quality condition, but there is faint staining along the outer edge on the right side and there is a light bend to the upper tip of the left corner.

Note that this is the second copy of this print that I have listed (the earlier copy has been sold).

I am selling this original and very famous drypoint by Rodin for a total cost of AU$502 (currently US$340.13/EUR309.62/GBP280.27 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 genuine drypoint executed by the hand of Rodin, 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

When I was a student I remember looking at what seemed like an endless array of portraits that history has deemed to be masterworks. At the time, I could see that they were “well done”, but no one took the trouble to explain what made a master portrait different to a skilfully executed one. Mindful of this shortfall in information, I thought I might offer a personal evaluation of what makes this image a masterwork.

Let me begin by proposing that knowledge about perspective, anatomy and technical skills play only a small part in creating a masterwork. This may sound like a surprising suggestion, but if I were to describe how a master artist draws a chair, for instance, few masters would begin by laying down a network of perspective guidelines. Instead, a master is more likely to draw from a personal experience of sitting in a chair and draw the chair from a sense of touch (i.e. a haptic approach where the drawing instrument becomes an imaginary hand). The outcome of drawing from experience rather than by formula is that the chair drawn from the experience of sitting in one is more likely to be convincingly real. In short, drawing is not so much about technical knowledge (but it is still an element), rather it is about intuitively “feeling’ the subject into the drawn image—a bit like Michelangelo who asserted that he could “see”/”feel” the figure he was sculpting within the marble.

If I now turn to this masterwork portrait of Antonin Proust, note how the fine strokes of the burin describing Proust’s chest are not a mechanical alignment hatched lines reproducing the surface contours of his chest. Instead they are exploratory strokes where each one is laid as if Rodin was searching and metaphorically “feeling” the form of Proust’s chest.

At this point I need to point out that when Rodin executed this portrait, his approach was not to sit Proust in a fixed position and to draw what he saw as precisely as he could. Such an approach is not the way that master artists work. Rodin knew that he had to move around his subject (Proust) so that he “understood” at an intimate level the form of his sitter’s head. This acquired knowledge then guided each stroke that Rodin made.

Auguste Rodin’s drypoint, “Antonin Proust”

Auguste Rodin (aka Pierre Auguste Rodin) (1840–1917)

“Antonin Proust”, 1884/8, published by Roger Marx in “Auguste Rodin,” opp. 190,  “Pan”, vol.III no.3, 1897, with publication details lettered lower left in the margin: “AUGUSTE RODIN, ANTONIN PROUST  ORIGINALRADIERUNG  PAN III 3.”

Drypoint on heavy cream wove paper (Japan) with large margins as published

Size: (sheet) 36.8 x 27.2 cm; (plate) 23.7 x 17.7 cm

State V (of VII)

Delteil 10.V (Delteil, Loys, “Le Peintre-Graveur Illustré (XIXe et XXe siècles)”, 31 vols, Paris, 1902); Thorson 1975 X.5 (Thorson, Victoria, “Rodin Graphics, a catalogue raisonné of drypoints and book illustrations”, Fine Art Museums of San Francisco, 1975)

The British Museum offer a description of this print; see: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1346204&partId=1&searchText=rodin+proust&page=1

Condition: faultless impression with margins as publish in excellent condition—almost pristine—apart from a faint stain towards the lower right corner of the margin.

I am selling this original and very famous drypoint by Rodin for a total cost of AU$487 (currently US$359.38/EUR339.15/GBP289.01 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this genuine Rodin, 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

When I was a student I remember looking at what seemed like an endless array of portraits that history has deemed to be "masterworks." At the time, I could see that they were “well done”, but no one took the trouble to explain what made a master portrait different to a skilfully executed one. Mindful of this shortfall in information, I thought I might offer a personal evaluation of what makes this image a masterwork.

Let me begin by proposing that knowledge about perspective, anatomy and technical skills play only a small part in creating a masterwork. This may sound like a surprising suggestion, but if I were to describe how a master artist draws a chair, for instance, few masters would begin by laying down a network of perspective guidelines. Instead, a master is more likely to draw from a personal experience of sitting in a chair and draw the chair from a sense of touch (i.e. a haptic approach where the drawing instrument becomes an imaginary hand). The outcome of drawing from experience rather than by formula is that the chair drawn from the experience of sitting in one is more likely to be convincingly real. In short, drawing is not so much about technical knowledge (but it is still an element), rather it is about intuitively “feeling’ the subject into the drawn image—a bit like Michelangelo who asserted that he could “see”/”feel” the figure he was sculpting within the marble.

If I now turn to this masterwork portrait of Antonin Proust, note how the fine strokes of the burin describing Proust’s chest are not a mechanical alignment hatched lines reproducing the surface contours of his chest. Instead they are exploratory strokes where each one is laid as if Rodin was searching and metaphorically “feeling” the form of Proust’s chest.

At this point I need to point out that when Rodin executed this portrait, his approach was not to sit Proust in a fixed position and to draw what he saw as precisely as he could. Such an approach is not the way that master artists work. Rodin knew that he had to move around his subject (Proust) so that he “understood” at an intimate level the form of his sitter’s head. This acquired knowledge then guided each stroke that Rodin made.

Haptic & Visual: Rodin & Julien

What are the key approaches to drawing?

Without too many apologies for speaking broadly, I wish to propose that there are only two fundamental approaches to drawing: the haptic and the visual. The haptic approach involves an artist drawing the chosen subject as if “feeling” its contours and spatial volume in a sensory way. For instance, if the subject were a chair, the artist would seemingly—perhaps literally—stroke the drawing support with the pen or pencil as if stroking the chair’s contours until an image of the chair became apparent. This attitude of discovering form by sensory exploration is expressed well by Michelangelo’s often quoted assertion:” I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free” (arguably from a letter from Michelangelo to Benedetto Varchi). By contrast, the visual approach is a much more analytical and calculated process of representing a subject using pictorial conventions, sight-size measuring and applying the most appropriate marks to mimic the subject’s pictorial attributes. For instance, in using this approach the artist would draw the chair by using the rules of perspective and employ marks to replicate the textures and patterns of light and shade on the chair.  To illustrate the difference of these two approaches and the advantages of each, the following discussion will focus on the way that Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) employs the haptic approach in portraiture by comparison to the visual approach of Bernard-Romain Julien (1802–71).

Like most sculptors engaged with working in a three-dimensional medium such as clay, plaster and bronze, Rodin’s practice as a draughtsman is to use each line as if it were floating in space. Moreover, the placement of each line in this illusion of space is so clear its position with regard to the other lines in a drawing can be determined with a fair degree of certainty. In his portrait of Victor Hugo (shown below) for example the lines portraying the great writer’s beard (see the detail further below) are arranged so that the hairs closest to us are minimally longer and have more graphic energy (i.e. expressive “life”) than the lines describing the further away aspects of his beard. From a personal standpoint, these lines are more than descriptive marks representing the beard. They embody the material substance of the beard as a three-dimensional mass leading back to his face in a flurry of rhythms like water making its way through rapids. 

Auguste Rodin (1840–1917)

Victor Hugo, de Trois Quarts (Victor Hugo, Three-Quarters View), 1885

Drypoint on creme wove paper

state vi (of viii)

22.2 x 14.9 cm (plate); 29.8 x 21.8 cm (sheet)

Thorson: VIII

Condition: pristine condition.

I am selling this print for the total amount of $970 AUD including postage and handling to anywhere in the world. Please contact me using the email link at the top of the page if you are interested or click the “Buy Now” button below.

This print has been sold

View of whole sheet

Rodin, (detail) Victor Hugo, Three-Quarters View, 1885

Rodin’s treatment of the silhouette outline of Hugo’s forehead reveals a key element of the haptic approach: a subject’s form is constructed out of the contours of the subject’s features rather than through observed effects of light and shade on the features. For example, the bump on Hugo’s noble brow (see detail below) is not delineated as a simple convexity in an unbroken silhouette outline. Instead the bump is portrayed as a conceptually “felt” excrescency and, as a consequence, the line work contouring the bump is then fitted into the matrix of other “felt” contours that ultimately shape the silhouette outline of Hugo’s head. In short, the outline is constructed from the head’s internal features rather than an observed line of demarcation between the subject and the immediate background.

Rodin, (detail) Victor Hugo, Three-Quarters View, 1885

One outcome of working with the haptic approach is that a drawing of a subject executed this way must ultimately be a personal and subjective portrayal. Of course, this is not usually a problem as part of the mantra of most artists is to showcase a personal vision. When a personal perception is not required, as for example in presenting an objective viewpoint for technical illustration, the visual approach of presenting a subject from the standpoint of what can be observed becomes important. The teaching of drawing and illustration is built around this approach as it gives opportunity for all the drawing techniques and principles gathered through the centuries to be channelled into a best practice model for portraying a subject. One of the instrumental artists engaged in this academic pursuit during the nineteenth century is Bernard-Romain Julien.

Julien’s approach to drawing is easily seen in his exercise templates for students to copy. In the selection of lithographs shown below the fine art academy student is invited to use the initial outline of the figure on the left of each plate and to follow the tonal distribution of the figure fully rendered in tone on the right. During the nineteenth century, instructional plates like these were widely available and they helped to train the student’s eye to see clearly and to instil care in the modelling of a subject’s form using very controlled shading techniques.

 Bernard-Romain Julien (1802–71)

Cours Elementaire, Plate Number 42

Lithograph on wove paper

27.5 x 36 cm

Cours Elementaire, Plate Number 44

Lithograph on wove paper

27.5 x 35.5 cm

Cours Elementaire, Plate Number 74

Lithograph on wove paper

27 x 36 cm

Cours Elementaire, Plate Number 79

Lithograph on wove paper

27.5 x 35.5 cm

Condition: minor handling marks and age toning to edges.

These prints have been sold

In the two prints below Julien’s deep admiration of a classical past is very evident. Not only is the choice of a subject designed to appeal to a taste at that time for notions of beauty aligned to the antique but the style of rendering is also designed to impart cool objectivity despite the use of dramatic lighting and the vignette format.

Bernard-Romain Julien (1802–71)

Cours Elementaire, Plate Number 138

Lithograph on wove paper

36 x 27.5 cm

Cours Elementaire, Plate Number 56

Lithograph on wove paper

35.9 x 27.4 cm

Condition: minor handling marks and age toning to edges.

I am selling the above two lithographs (#138, 56) for the total amount of $130 AUD including postage and handling to anywhere in the world. Please contact me using the email link at the top of the page if you are interested or click the “Buy Now” button below.

These prints have been sold

Julien’s infinite care in rendering the transitions of tone on a subject also extends to how he models the contours of each form with line. In Etude d’apres E. Deveria (shown below), for instance, the cross-hatching of lines is so consciously controlled that the precision of alignment within each set of lines makes the form of the subject a clear representation of concrete reality.

Bernard-Romain Julien (1802–71)

Etude d’apres E. Deveria, Cours Elementaire, Plate Number 104

Lithograph on wove paper

37 x 27.4 cm

Condition: minor handling marks and age toning to edges.

I am selling the above lithograph (#104) for the total amount of $95 AUD including postage and handling to anywhere in the world. Please contact me using the email link at the top of the page if you are interested or click the “Buy Now” button below.

This print has been sold

On close comparison with the line work of Rodin, however, there is a difference in the handling of contours. In Julien’s print the line work can be described as an approximation of a broad flow of the subject’s contours but this flow is one based on observation rather than sensory exploration. Herein is the essential difference in the two approaches.

Julien, (detail) Etude d’apres E. Deveria

Julien, (detail) Etude d’apres E. Deveria