Félix Bracquemonde (1833-1914) (artist and etcher)
Alfred Cadart (1828-1875) (publisher)
Frontispiece, The Société des Aqua-Fortistes
from Eaux-fortes modernes: Oeuvres inédites et originales
[Modern Etchings: Original and Hitherto Unpublished Works]
A. Cadart et Luquet, Paris: 1865
Etching on paper
13.75 X 9.75 inches, image
14 x 9.75 inches, platemark
20.5 x 13.5 inches, sheet
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Frontispiece, The Société des Aqua-Fortistes
Félix Bracquemonde, 1865
Félix Bracquemonde, 1865
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This bold allegorical etching, by the celebrated engraver Félix Bracquemond, was created as the frontispiece to a volume of the renowned periodical of the Société des Aqua-Fortistes, a group promoting etching as a fine art. A draped nude female figure gazes at the mirror held aloft in one hand (probably an allegory for Vanity). She is seated in an open-air classical pavilion, flanked by a dog on the left facing right and a Chinese foo dog sculpture on the right facing left. A banner bearing the society’s name billows in front of the roof supports, which are inscribed with the names of the artists Ingres, Delacroix, Corot and Courbet. The print is richly inked on watermarked Aqua-Fortistes laid paper, which was made especially for these publications.
Félix Bracquemond was a printmaker, designer, painter and writer. Perhaps best known for his watercolors and etchings he was considered a master of both media by his contemporaries. While apprenticed to a lithographer as a teenager, he was discovered by the painter Guichard, and became his student. He exhibited drawn and painted portraits in the Salon from 1852 on. He began making etchings soon after, which he entered in later Salons, winning a total of three medals. Dedicated to reviving the art of original printmaking, Bracquemond was one of the founding members of the Société des Aqua-Fortistes, and contributed numerous prints to their monthly publications. He taught the art of etching to Manet, and exhibited paintings at the Impressionist Exhibitions in 1874, 1879 and 1880. As art director at the Haviland porcelain factory from 1872 to 1880, he garnered a reputation for his precise and harmonious designs. Bracquemond was awarded the Legion of Honor in 1882 and made an officer of the order in 1889. His works are in museum collections all over the world.
Alfred Cadart was a French art dealer and print publisher in Paris beginning in 1859. In 1861, he entered into a partnership with the photographer Félix Chevalier, exhibiting photographs of art and paintings and publishing a print portfolio. In 1862, they began publishing monthly issues of the Société des Aqua-Fortistes, Eaux-fortes modernes: Oeuvres inédites et originales, and continued thereafter for five years. These publications were intended to advance etching as a fine art, and included work by Alphonse Legros, Edouart Manet, Félix Bracquemond, Johan Barthold Jongkind and François Bonvin. The etchings represent some of the best French printmaking of the era. Cadart also published most of Manet’s original etchings.
References:
“Alfred (Alphonse) Cadart.” The Grove Dictionary of Art. New York: Macmillan. 2000. Artnet.com. http://www.artnet.com/library/01/0129/T012927.asp (5 April 2004).
Bénézit, E. Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs. France: Librairie Gründ, 1966. Vol. 2, pp. 95-96.
Beraldi. Les Gravures du XIXe Siecle, Guide de l'Amateur d'Estampes Modernes. Vol. III, p. 69, no. 178, i/ii.
Laran. Inventaire du Fonds Francais après 1800. Vol. 3, p. 369, no. 175, i/ii.