Eve and the serpent: 1896

Eve and the Serpent 

A copy of the original print

This print (in 1896 called a chromo-xylograph) is regarded the first modern woodblock print created in England. The original, I really have no idea how many or how few prints were pulled from the original blocks nor about their where a-bouts, I've found only one copy of it in the internet. 

It was created in 1896 by John Dickson-Batten (1860-1932) and Frank Morley-Fletcher (1866-1949) in a joint effort. Some of the struggle creating it, technical details concerning the method of printing and registering, was revealed by JDB himself in the Studio Magazine in 1896 with this article and the issue also held a "photo-mechanical reproduction" of the print. (Click pictures to embiggen and read: interesting stuff !) 

Taken the Magazines reputation it must have been the best available high quality technical method of reproduction and quite an achievement.

Copy of the Studio print 

I have also no idea how rare this Studio photo-mechanical edition is. How many copies may have survived time ? But I did find this offer in America, wondering about the selling price (?) 

Read more and all about Dickson-Batten and Morley-Fletcher in Charles' Modern Printmakers Blog. He is after all the expert on British printmakers. There's nothing I could wish to add there, but:  

I found these two lovely contemporary computerized designs (said to be) based on illustrations by Dickson Batten for "Celtic Ferry Tales" (1892) but so far I have not been able to find the original illustrations. The book on the shelf (right) seems to have  the name Remark on its back. I wonder which book this was. 

And I found this charming Mermaid printed (with a kind of "Japanese wash" background)  as  a bookplate by Dickson-Batten. I hadn't seen it before. 

(As Charles stated in the comments it was actually created by his brother) 

Batten and Fletcher followed in the footsteps of Auguste Lepère (1849-1918) and Henri Rivière (1864-1851) who just a few years before were the first to try at the Japanese way of printmaking. Here's Lepère with a very Japanese print of his convalescent wife on the Brittany coast. It is 1892 ! 

and here in 1898 in a more traditional way of (European, claire-obscure) printmaking with "Eve Repentant" after the statue of August Rodin. She was published as a print in the Studio in 1898. Its method of reproduction was not given as "photo-mechanical" but as "woodcut in two blocks by A. Lepère after the staue of A. Rodin". Signed in the block lower right: the real thing ?

Studio supplement prints are very sought after and highly collectable prints. The   earliest ones said to be extremely rare. I, however, have no idea concerning their market value of true scarcity but it a lovely print it is. Maybe an expert reader can enlighten me (us).  

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All pictures borrowed freely from the Internet for friendly, educational and non commercial use only.  

Visit my renewed Galerie Ondine with nice pre-owned art.

Weekly upload of many nice prints. 

(Both Studio Eve's are available, 

see there for suggestions and conditions) 

    

Kurt Frindby & Jakob Erikson: Eve Repentant, after the apple.

Eve repentant

("after the apple")

Visiting a collectors and antiques fair last fall I discovered her and instantly fell in love. Over the years I've had many encounters with objects, prints and paintings "I just could not live without". But too often I had to and did. Older and wiser now, I decided to spend the greater part of my budget-for-this-day on my new muse, not knowing I'ld ever meet her again.  

Kurt Frindby and Jacob Eriksen
?

The label(*) mentions Kurt Frindby (thought to be the retailer) and the artist Jakob Erikson. 

(*) Googling I actually found two different labels: 

It is, according to the label, an original copy, monogrammed J.E. and its of a sculpture in Charlottenburg Art Exhibition (Kopenhagen). But it's not unique. Googling Frindby and Eriksen (who isn't mentioned in any Lexikon but the Internet says (1899-1995) I found some more examples of my oak "Fynbopigen", which I failed to translate. My heart says: "very nice build girl" which I think she is. And I even found some (not many) examples of other sculptures by illusive Jacob Eriksen.  

Please help me to identify these two men and the history of this sculpture. And if you happen to know the whereabouts of her kneeling sister: please contact me. I'ld love to have her.      

  

August Rodin (1840-1917) and Eve. 

Jakob Eriksen, who-ever he was, obviously was inspired by Rodin's famous sculpture of Eve. My "research" shows Rodin could haven been inspired (he probably was, he knew his colleague Brock very well) by Thomas Brock's "Eve Repentant" exhibited in the Paris World Exhibition in 1898. There are today many copies of Rodin's Eve displayed all over the world.  

Auguste Lepere (1849-1918) and Rodin's Eve.

Lepere, with Henri Rivière and the Beltrand brothers the godfathers of Modern Printmaking, showed his engraving skills combined with a touch of artistic interpretation and a simple extra color block in this original 1898 "the Studio" print of his friend's sculpture I was able to find and purchase recently (thank you Irene !) to accompany my Eve.   

Edward Steichen (1879-1973) and Rodin's Eve. 

Edward Steichen, famous early photographer in Rodins studio (1907) shooting this historical photograph. 

Thomas Brock (1847-1922) and Eve.

Brock was greatly praised and admired for his Eve Repentant. I'm quite sure he was inspired by the paintings of George Watts, sculpting his Eve that is now on display in the Tate Gallery but was in the Paris World Exhibition of 1898.   

George Frederic Watts (1817-1904) and Eve.

Well, I think I've found the source and origin of this chain of Eve Repentant sculptures. It was the third and last of a tryptic ("the new Eve" and "Eve tempted" painted by George Frederic Watts. A project started around 1875 and also exhibited in Paris. These paintings now are also in the Tate in London.    

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All pictures borrowed freely from the Internet for friendly, educational and non commercial use only.  

  

Henri Guerard, French pioneer printmaker

Henri-Charles Guérard

(1846-1897)

French painter etcher and printmaker.

As a result of my on going interest in prints and printmakers this French artist emerged from the past and I hope sharing my personal research laced with a choice of  Guérards work will be of interest to readers of this Blog.

Le Palais de Justice, vu du Pont Notre-Dame (1889) edition of 6 prints by August Leperè dedicated to his friend Guérard.

Henri Guerard was born three years before August Lepère (1849-1918), considered the godfather of French and possibly European Modern Printmakers. They were of course acquainted Lepère encouraging Guérard to create prints the new way. (Read here*)

And Guérard became befriended with Éduard Manet (1832-1883) who’s pupil (Manet’s only one), impressionist model and painter Eva Gonzalès (1849-1883) he would marry in 1879. The couple moved to Honfleur in Brittany meeting many of the impressionist painters and etchers. 

I always assumed (dangerous !) the Paris World Exhibition of 1889 was the start of rising interest and influence in and popularity of Japanese printmaking in Europe. 

In 1890 the Ecole des Beaux Arts held an exhibition leaving Felix Valloton (1865-1925) involved in Japonism. His cygnes (swans) a very popular item in the 1890’s and 1910’s dating from 1892 and in next posting I intend hurdling them all together. Guérards swans, below, dated a few years later: 1895.

But well before 1890 I learned Leon Gonse (1846-1921), art historian and director of la Gazette des Beaux Arts, organized exhibitions on Japan art and in 1883 published his most important and influential 2 volume book “ L’Art Japonais” (edition of 1400) and illustrated by his friend Guérard.

Manet considered Guérard the best French aquatint etcher of his time. With Felix Bracquemond (1833-1914) Guérard founded the Societé des Peintres Graveurs in 1890. 

Portraits of Éduard Manet, Whistler and 
Whistler's mother (after the painting) 

Guérard died young dating all his known work before 1897, about the year the first  British, Austrian and German examples were conceived by printmakers like Frank Morley Fletcher (who had studied in Paris), Otto Eckmann, Emil Orlik and of course many others. 

Honfleur harbour.

 

It is from 1905 onwards a steadily growing stream of prints by a growing number of artists influenced by and/or printing in "the Japanese way' can be traced but in that last decade of the 19^th century there obviously was much more going on in this field then I’d imagined before.

 Tiger head and print of a monkey's hand 

Eva Gonzalès died from an embolism giving birth to their sun Jean, six days after her teacher and friend Manet passed away. This lovely painting “le Chignon” (the Bun) is by her. Guérard married her sister Jeanne a few years later. Left little Jean Guérard's portrait  by his father.

Guérard with Jean Francois Raffaelli (1850-1924) are considered the pioneers of aquatint etching. 

Etching by Guérard of Hokusai's chess players

With Lepère, Guérard preceded and stood at the very beginning of the first “generation” of French Modern Printmakers: Felix Valloton, Henri Rivière (1864-1951), Jacques Beltrand (1874-1977), Amadee Joyau (1873-1913), Jules Chadel (1870-1942), Henri Amedee-Wetter (1869-1929 and Prosper Alphonse Isaac (1858-1924)

Guérard at work. 

Read here* and here* in "Adventures in the print trade" on Lepère, Raffaelli and Guérard.

All pictures borrowed freely from the Internet for friendly, educational and non commercial use only.