Marcel Roux, “L'Échouée”, (published 1923)

Marcel Roux (also known as Barthélemy Auguste Marcel Roux) (1878–1922)

“L'Échouée” (also known as “The Stranded Woman”, or “Washed up”), pre-1914 (posthumously published 1923)

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching printed in brown ink on buff-coloured Lafuma wove paper (with partial “47” mill/batch watermark) with margins as issued. It was published in Paris by Albert Morancé in the French art and graphic arts quarterly review, “Byblis, Miroir des Arts du Livre et de l'Estampe,” in 1923.

The impression is strong and well-printed—near faultless! The sheet is in pristine condition, free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains or signs of handling.

Art Historical Insight

This specific print was chosen posthumously from the artist’s vast oeuvre to anchor a major retrospective tribute, summarising the thematic driving forces behind his creative vision. The unsettling image of a woman washed up on a shoreline, shadowed by ambiguous, dark forms beyond, epitomises the profound helplessness and spiritual despair Roux perceived in the moral decay of pre-war society. The striking care taken in modelling the woman's figure avoids simple idealisation; instead, this strict adherence to raw anatomical detail is directly attributable to Roux's early professional training as a medical illustrator documenting autopsies and anatomical specimens.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 22.5 x 28.1 cm
• Plate: 16.9 x 23.5 cm

References:

• Adventures in the Print Trade: https://adventuresintheprinttrade.blogspot.com/2011/08/another-side-of-marcel-roux.html
• Godart, Justin, “Marcel Roux: Graveur Lyonnais,” published in “Byblis, Miroir des Arts du Livre et de l'Estampe,” Paris, 1923

Price & Shipping:

AU$273 (approximately US$192.43 / €166.28 / £143.53), inclusive of worldwide express shipping. Please note that import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this rare stand-alone etching—a powerful image that beautifully crystallises the artist’s unique vision of spiritual despair—please contact me directly at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. A secure, itemised PayPal invoice will be generated to complete your purchase smoothly.

Marcel Roux, “L’Enfant et la Mort”, 1905

Marcel Roux (1878–1922)

“L’Enfant et la Mort” (aka “Death and the Child”), 1905, plate 11 from the suite of 15 plates, “Danse Macabre” (see http://ampaen.mumaro.free.fr/suite2.htm#L'enfant), printed by A & M Vernant  (fl. early 1900s) and published in Paris by George Petit (1856–1920 [business continued until 1933]) as an original etching bound between pages 20 and 21 in the art periodical, “Revue de l’Art Ancient et Moderne”, 1^st January, 1925 (see https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4325523/f23.double).

For a superb account of Marcel Roux’s remarkable life and prints, see “Adventures in the Print Trade”: https://adventuresintheprinttrade.blogspot.com/2008/08/artists-youve-never-heard-of-marcel.html.

Etching (with drypoint?) printed in a warm black ink on heavy cream laid paper (with partial watermark: “[…]hes” [possibly “Arches”]).

Size: (sheet) 29.9 x 21.2 cm; (platemark) 24.9 X 16.9 cm; (image borderline) 24.2 x 16.3 cm.

Condition: a richly inked and well-printed (near faultless) impression in an excellent condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions or significant stains.

I am selling this memorably disquieting etching of the personification of death holding the hand of a young girl, for AU$283 (currently US$188.82/EUR170.28/GBP143.80 at the time of posting this print) 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$283) as this is my currency.

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