|
|
La Rue Damiette
à Rouen
Delteil 52,
Leymarie 52
etching with aquatint,
1884, on heavy cream-yellow wove paper, a superb impression of the
extremely rare first state (of two)*, before the plate was extensively
reworked with a scraper to lighten it, with good margins, a faint inky
fingerprint in the lower left corner, some slight surface soiling,
otherwise in remarkably fine and fresh condition
P. 195x148mm., S.
280x200mm.
|
Provenance: the Jean
Cantacuzène collection, with the "JC" wetstamp on the reverse
(Lugt 4030), and the Henri M. Petiet collection, with
the "HMP" wetstamp on the reverse (not cited in Lugt)
According to Ludovic-Rodo
Pissarro, "The Rouen series is one of the most engaging he
ever did, depicting the narrow crowded streets of the old city
crowned by its beautiful cathedral." (The tour shown here is not
however the cathedral, but rather the Tour Couronné of the Abbaye de
Bénédictins Saint-Ouen.)
It should further be
noted that this particular print is significantly discussed by
Shikes and Harper, who emphasize (pages 188-189) the importance
of early proofs in appreciating its subtle and rich tonal values.**
The present proof indeed
shows rich velvety blacks that are notably lacking in the greyish
second state. Furthermore, the use of "aquatint" here,
or rather the deeply shaded bitten tone achieved by Pissarro,
seems to be a directly applied and stopped-out acid wash, a novel
technique that he ostensibly learned from Degas, and which is
evident in a number of his etchings.
* Delteil knew of only
two impressions of this state, both apparently annotated by the
artist, the present impression thus being the third. It is therefore
of the utmost rarity.
** Ludovic-Rodo Pissarro,
"The Etched and Lithographed Work of Camille Pissarro",
in Print Collector's Quarterly IX, pp. 275-301, 1922; Ralph
Shikes and Paula Harper, Pissarro: His Life and Work, 1980
