Lefebvre, Nymph and Bacchus, engraving Goupil 1881
"Nymph and Bacchus", by Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1866) engraved and etched by Goupil, 1881; printed on heavy stock paper; signed in plate "J.J. Lefebvre, Pinx." and "Gravure Goupil et Cie."
"From the Original Painting in the Luxembourg Gallery"
Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1836-1912) was a French figure painter. Lefebvre entered the Ecole Nationale superieure des Beaux-Arts in 1852 and was a pupil of Leon Cogniet. He won the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1861. Between 1855 and 1898, he exhibited 72 portraits in the Paris Salon. In 1891, he became a member of the French Academie des Beaux-Arts.
Lefebvre was an instructor at the Academie Julian in Paris. He is chiefly important as an excellent and sympathetic teacher who numbered many Americans among his 1500 or more pupils. One of his famous students was the Scottish born landscape painter William Hart. Georges Rochegrosse, Felix Vallotton, the Americans Childe Hassam, John Henry Twachtman, John Noble Barlow, Augustus Kenderdine, and Charles A. Platt were also his pupils.
Among his best portraits were those of M.L. Reynaud and the Prince Imperial (1874). Among his many decorations were a first-class medal at the Paris Exhibition of 1878 and the medal of honor in 1886. He was a Commander of the Legion of Honor and a member of the Institute de France.
Jules Joseph Lefebvre apparently became disenchanted with the traditional formulaic approach to painting, instead turning towards more precise rendering from life. In 1868, Jules Joseph Lefebvre exhibited a Reclining Nude at the Salon, which unlike his last significant work, won him much praise. Two years later, his allegory of Truth became his first great success. A beautiful young woman holds up a mirror (the conventional symbol of truth). Shortly after the success of this nude, Jules Joseph Lefebvre was made an officer in the Legion of Honor.
What followed in the decades to come were variations on Truth. His many beautiful nudes took the roles of Mary Magdalene (1876), Pandora (1877), Diana (1879), Psyche (1883), and Aurora among others. His nudes became so famous that his only rival was considered to be Bouguereau. Unlike Bouguereau's figures though, Lefebvre used a greater variety of models, which can be seen in his work.
He received a First Medal at the Salon of 1865, others in 1868 and 1870, and the cross of the Legion of Honor in the later year. For his exhibits at the Universal Exposition of 1878 he received a Grand Medal.
In 1870s-1890s, Goupil & Cie were the leading art dealers in 19th century France, with headquarters in Paris and a network of branches in London, Brussels, The Hague, Berlin and Vienna, as well as in New York and Australia. Instrumental for this expansion was the "Ateliers Photographiques", a plant north of Paris, in Asnieres, which took up its work in 1869. The photogravures created in this plant dominated the world art market of 1880s-1890s.
The creation of the photogravure plate was a complicated process requiring a work by a photographer and experienced master-engraver. First, a copper plate was coated with a light-sensitive gelatin tissue which had been exposed to a film positive, and then etched, resulting in a high quality intaglio print that can reproduce the detail and continuous tones of a photograph. It is a manual process. Therefore, the quality of the photogravure depends on the masterly execution by the engraver.
Due to relative softness of copper, the editions of photogravures were limited to a few thousand copies similarly to copper engravings and etchings.
Artwork will be mailed unframed.
US: Priority (c.2-4 days) ---------- $20.50
Canada: 1st Class (c.2-8 weeks) --- $22.50
World: 1st Class (c.2-8 weeks) ---- $29.50
Condition Report: Heavy stock paper, design 6.1/4" x 8.15/16" [160mm x 225mm], the entire plate 10.1/16”" x c.13" [256mm x 330mm]; some foxing and staining of blank margins, very good condition. The picture mat is 11" x 13" is included and is not attached to the artwork.
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"Nymph and Bacchus", by Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1866) engraved and etched by Goupil, 1881; printed on heavy stock paper; signed in plate "J.J. Lefebvre, Pinx." and "Gravure Goupil et Cie."
"From the Original Painting in the Luxembourg Gallery"
Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1836-1912) was a French figure painter. Lefebvre entered the Ecole Nationale superieure des Beaux-Arts in 1852 and was a pupil of Leon Cogniet. He won the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1861. Between 1855 and 1898, he exhibited 72 portraits in the Paris Salon. In 1891, he became a member of the French Academie des Beaux-Arts.
Lefebvre was an instructor at the Academie Julian in Paris. He is chiefly important as an excellent and sympathetic teacher who numbered many Americans among his 1500 or more pupils. One of his famous students was the Scottish born landscape painter William Hart. Georges Rochegrosse, Felix Vallotton, the Americans Childe Hassam, John Henry Twachtman, John Noble Barlow, Augustus Kenderdine, and Charles A. Platt were also his pupils.
Among his best portraits were those of M.L. Reynaud and the Prince Imperial (1874). Among his many decorations were a first-class medal at the Paris Exhibition of 1878 and the medal of honor in 1886. He was a Commander of the Legion of Honor and a member of the Institute de France.
Jules Joseph Lefebvre apparently became disenchanted with the traditional formulaic approach to painting, instead turning towards more precise rendering from life. In 1868, Jules Joseph Lefebvre exhibited a Reclining Nude at the Salon, which unlike his last significant work, won him much praise. Two years later, his allegory of Truth became his first great success. A beautiful young woman holds up a mirror (the conventional symbol of truth). Shortly after the success of this nude, Jules Joseph Lefebvre was made an officer in the Legion of Honor.
What followed in the decades to come were variations on Truth. His many beautiful nudes took the roles of Mary Magdalene (1876), Pandora (1877), Diana (1879), Psyche (1883), and Aurora among others. His nudes became so famous that his only rival was considered to be Bouguereau. Unlike Bouguereau's figures though, Lefebvre used a greater variety of models, which can be seen in his work.
He received a First Medal at the Salon of 1865, others in 1868 and 1870, and the cross of the Legion of Honor in the later year. For his exhibits at the Universal Exposition of 1878 he received a Grand Medal.
In 1870s-1890s, Goupil & Cie were the leading art dealers in 19th century France, with headquarters in Paris and a network of branches in London, Brussels, The Hague, Berlin and Vienna, as well as in New York and Australia. Instrumental for this expansion was the "Ateliers Photographiques", a plant north of Paris, in Asnieres, which took up its work in 1869. The photogravures created in this plant dominated the world art market of 1880s-1890s.
The creation of the photogravure plate was a complicated process requiring a work by a photographer and experienced master-engraver. First, a copper plate was coated with a light-sensitive gelatin tissue which had been exposed to a film positive, and then etched, resulting in a high quality intaglio print that can reproduce the detail and continuous tones of a photograph. It is a manual process. Therefore, the quality of the photogravure depends on the masterly execution by the engraver.
Due to relative softness of copper, the editions of photogravures were limited to a few thousand copies similarly to copper engravings and etchings.
Artwork will be mailed unframed.
US: Priority (c.2-4 days) ---------- $20.50
Canada: 1st Class (c.2-8 weeks) --- $22.50
World: 1st Class (c.2-8 weeks) ---- $29.50
Condition Report: Heavy stock paper, design 6.1/4" x 8.15/16" [160mm x 225mm], the entire plate 10.1/16”" x c.13" [256mm x 330mm]; some foxing and staining of blank margins, very good condition. The picture mat is 11" x 13" is included and is not attached to the artwork.
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