Théodore Rousseau
Théodore Rousseau, Chênes de Roche, etching, 1861

Chênes de Roche

[Rock Oaks]

Delteil 4 II/III, Melot 4.2

etching, 1861, on medium-weight cream laid paper (with a partial Hudelist watermark), with very wide margins, the second state (of three) before publication in the Gazette des Beaux Arts, a rare proof impression*; traces of old hinges and pencil annotations on the verso, otherwise in excellent condition

P. 118x86 mm.  S.  225x163 mm.

This etching is considered to be Rousseau's masterpiece. 

As Loys Delteil** concludes in his catalogue raisonné entry, with regard to the print presented here,

"C'est la pièce qui résume l'ensemble des qualités de Rousseau : intimité, grandeur, force, science, conscience, saveur."

[It is this piece that sums up all of Rousseau's qualities: intimacy, grandeur, strength, science, awareness, flavour."]


We have only seen two similar impressions of this state on auction in the past 20 years.

This etching was a version of the picture presented at the Salon of 1861, for which there is also a preliminary drawing (see Schulman 1997, n° 562).



*  Alfred Sensier, Rousseau's first biographer, states, "Les épreuves du 1er tirage sont fort rares."

**  Loys Delteil, Le Peintre-Graveur Illustré, Volume 1