Thomas Riley, “Roxana”, 1882

Thomas Riley (1856–1892)

“Roxana,” 1822, commissioned by Philip Gilbert Hamerton (1834–1894) and published in London in 1882 by Seeley & Co (also known as L & G Seeley, fl. 1839–1900s) in the art periodical, “The Portfolio.”

Based on the commentary on page 25 of “The Portfolio” (1882), I understand that at the time Riley created this etching, he was working with the renowned English painter Sir Edward John Poynter (1836–1919), assisting him in painting the figures for the decoration of the Dome of St Paul’s. The subject of this etched portrait is described as “an Indian girl.” Interestingly, the commentary highlights the “leafy background,” suggesting that it “appears to have been suggested by decorative painting,” and noting that such a background “has rarely been attempted in etching” (ibid.).

Etching with plate tone printed in umber ink on cream laid paper (watermark “MBM. PORTFOLIO”) with full margins as published.

Size: (sheet) 34.5 x 23.9 cm; (plate) 26.5 x 23.9 cm; (image borderline)  24.4 x 18 cm.

Inscribed in plate: (lower left corner) “Tho. Riley”.

Condition: a richly inked and well-printed impression. The sheet is in a near pristine condition, free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, or significant stains.

Price & Shipping: AU$288 in total (approximately US$188.44 / €162.84 / £143.29), including worldwide express shipping. Please note that import duties are the buyer's responsibility.

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

Alfred Louis Brunet-Debaines, “St. Denis”, 1885, after Turner

Alfred Louis Brunet-Debaines (1845–1939)

“St. Denis”, 1885, mezzotint after Joseph Mallord William Turner’s (1775–1851) watercolour (c.1833), in the collection of the Tate Gallery, London, showing the suburb of Saint-Denis in Paris with the Basilica of Saint-Denis seen across the River Seine on a moonlit night, published in London by Seeley & Co. (fl.1839–early 1900s) in 1885.

Regarding the painting, the Tate Gallery offers the following insights: “Although St Denis is ostensibly the subject of this image, the ancient cathedral is relegated to the distance, and even the activities of the people in the foreground are of secondary interest to the enveloping coolness of the moonlight. In much the same way that many of Turner's later paintings present forms outlined by the strong sunlight at the centre of his image, he is here exploiting the subdued silhouettes created by a full moon” (https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-st-denis-d24686).

Note that Samuel Fisher (1806-1851) also executed an etching with engraving after Turner’s watercolour (see https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1849-0512-715), published in “Wanderings by the Seine” in 1835. Comparison of Fisher and Brunet-Debaines’ prints with Turner’s watercolour reveals very different readings of the scene. Arguably Fisher’s etching (with engraving) is sharper in focus giving the scene the clarity of an icy night under the full moon, whereas Brunet-Debaines’ mezzotint presents the same scene with a softness of mist and a hint of ethereal mystery—of course, these ways of reading the prints is a personal response only.

Mezzotint printed in a warm black ink on wove paper (with watermark) with full margins.

Size: (sheet) 20.5 x 32cm; (plate) 15.8 x 20.8cm; (image borderline) 13 x 18cm.

Condition: a strong impression with generously wide margins. Beyond a few spots of retouching, the sheet is otherwise in an excellent condition with no tears, holes, folds, stains or signs of handling.

I am selling this richly glowing mezzotint showing a full moon illuminating the distant Basilica of Saint-Denis in Paris after Turner’s watercolour of the same scene, for the total cost of AU$187 (currently US$121.52/ EUR116.04/ GBP96.62 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$187) as this is my currency.

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

Maxime Lalanne, “Rouen”, 1884

Maxime Lalanne (aka François Antoine Maxime Lalanne) (1827–1886)

“Rouen” (title as inscribed in plate) (aka “Rouen from the Country” [Hamerton’s title]; “Vue de la Ville de Rouen”; Vue Prise de Rouen”; “Vue de Rouen” [Salon 1885 title]), 1884, published in London by Seeley & Co. (fl.1839–early 1900s) as an illustration facing page 296 to Philip Gilbert Hamerton’s (1834–1894) “Landscape” with the following description (extract): [The portrayed view of Rouen is not an] illustration of localities, this etching is interesting as an example of a very beautiful combination, that of trees with distant towers [Rouen Cathedral on the left; St. Maclou in the middle; St. Ouen on the right]; and it may be doubted whether there is any other place in the world, except, possibly, Oxford, where this combination can be seen so perfectly as at Rouen” (facing page 296).

Etching on wove paper (watermarked “W King” [Alton Mill]) with full margins as published.

Size: (sheet) 21 x 31.5 cm; (plate) 15.7 x 23.5 cm; (image borderline) 12.8 x 20.9 cm.

Inscribed in plate: (lower right corner) “Rouen. 1884/ Maxime Lalanne”

State ii (of ii) final published state with cleaned margins.

Villet 151 (Jeffrey M. Villet 2010, “The Complete Prints of Maxime Lalanne”, Washington, D.C., art@mone fine prints, n.p., cat. no. 151).

Condition: a strong and well-printed impression with full margins as published in a near pristine (museum quality) condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, foxing or stains.

I am selling this superb etching executed by “the first artist who ever received knighthood for his qualities as an etcher” (Hamerton, “Etching and Etchers”, p. 177)—note that the knighthood (Order of Christ) was conferred on him by the King of Portugal who was also an etcher—for AU$187 in total (currently US$120.93/EUR113.59/GBP97.13 at the time of this listing) including Express (EMS) 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 very beautiful etching completed only two years before this nineteenth century master of printmaking died, 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 

Edmond Yon, “Near the Coast at Cayeux-Sur-Mer”, 1885

Edmond Yon (aka Edmond Charles Joseph Yon) (1836–1897)

“Near the Coast at Cayeux-Sur-Mer” (Picard coast, France), 1885, illustration facing page 37 to Philip Gilbert Hamerton’s (1834–1894) “Landscape”, published in 1885 by Seeley & Co. (fl.1839–early 1900s) in London.

Etching, drypoint and dot-roulette on fine wove paper with full margins as published.

Size: (sheet) 21.3 x 31.1 cm; (plate) 16.2 x 24.3 cm; (image borderline) 14 x 21.7 cm.

Inscribed in plate below the image borderline: (left) “Edmond Yon P^[inx]t & Sc^[ulp]t”.

Condition: a richly inked and well-printed (near flawless) impression in a pristine condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, foxing or signs of handling.

I am selling this superb etching with velvety rich touches of drypoint showing a herdsman leading a cow through marshlands—possibly at the estuary of the River Somme in Baie de Somme in which the town of Cayeux-sur-Mer (mentioned in the title) is located—for AU$187 in total (currently US$122.63/EUR112.65/GBP96.25 at the time of posting 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.

If you are interested in purchasing this marvellous etching by a true master of the craft—note how the artist has created the effect of a “splash” of light falling on the reeds in the front of the herdsman and used the silhouette shapes of leaves in the foreground to give spatial depth to the scene—please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Brunet-Debaines’ etching, “Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire: Chapel of the Nine Altars”, 1882, after Wyllie

Alfred Louis Brunet-Debaines (1845–1939)

“Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire: Chapel of the Nine Altars”, 1882, after William Lionel Wyllie (1851–1931), published in London in 1882 by Seeley, Jackson & Halliday (fl.1867–1880) as an illustration inserted at page 88 in volume 13 to (Ed.) Philip Gilbert Hamerton’s (1834–1894) art periodical, “The Portfolio”.

Etching on heavy laid cream paper (Portfolio watermark) with full margins as published.

Size: (sheet) 34.5 x 24.3 cm; (plate) 25.8 x 18.7 cm; (image borderline) 22.8 x 15.9 cm.

Inscribed in plate within the image borderline: (lower left corner) “A Brunet-Debaines.”

The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers a description of this print: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/711850.

Condition: a richly inked and well-printed (near faultless) impression with full margins as published in pristine condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains or foxing.

I am selling this remarkably strong etching of the ruins at the medieval Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire (England) showing the Chapel of the Nine Altars that I understand is famous for its early English Gothic architecture, for AU$227 (currently US$131.67/EUR119.14/GBP104.88 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 near faultless impression of a superb etching in pristine/museum quality condition, 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