Love, Eros Turns the World, 1881 Claudius Marioton

"Love [Eros] Turns the World", engraving after the 1879 sculpture by Claudius Marioton, engraved by Goupil, original photogravure plate issued in 1881; printed on heavy stock paper; signed in plate "C. Marioton, Sculp." and "Gravure Goupil et Cie.".Goupil's original description sheet for this engraving is present.

Reference: the original sculpture, "Eros Making the World Turn According to His Pleasure" was exhibited at Paris Salon of 1879, and is now located in Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen.

Claudius Marioton (1844-1919) was a French sculptor. He exhibited at every Paris Salon from 1873 onwards, winning an honorary mention each year from 1879 to 1882, a 3rd class medal in 1883 and a 2nd class medal (outside the competition) in 1885. His first exhibit was 'Le Plaisir' (Pleasure; plaster #6514) and 'Love Making the World Turn According to His Pleasure' (bronze #6515) at the 1879 Salon. He also won laureates in the Willemsens and Crozatier competitions in 1876 and 1879 respectively.In 1886, he decorated Carrier-Belleuse's cup (Musee d'Orsay) He won two gold medals and one silver medal at the 1889 Exposition Universelle. He was on the sculpture jury at the 'salon des Champs-Elysees' in 1893 and 1894. In 1894, he produced 'Byzance' (Byzantium) in gold and silver, 'The Satyr', a steel bas-relief with lapis lazuli inlay, and 'L'offensive et Defensive' ('The Offensive and the Defensive'), a silver, gold and color diptych. He won the collective firsts prize at the Lyon Exposition Universelle in 1894 and the following year was made a knight of the Ordre national de la Legion d'honneur. He was also a member of the overseeing committee of the Ecole Boulle and director of the 'Ecole de dessin de modelage et de ciselure de la reunion des fabricants de bronze' in Paris.

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.

In contrary to steel engravings, photogravures were engraved on copper plates and leave a plate impression in the paper. Due to relative softness of copper, the editions of photogravures were limited to a few thousand copies similarly to copper engravings and etchings.

US: Priority (c 2-4 days) -------- $13.50
Canada: 1st Class (c. 2-6 weeks) - $20.50
World: 1st Class (c.2-8 weeks) --- $29.50
Condition Report: Design 7.6/8" x 9.7/8" [19.2cm x 25cm], the entire plate is 11.1/2" x 14.1/2" [29cm x 38cm]; a little foxing (a few stains), slightly bumped corners, one small surface damage of the blank margin; very good condition [see photographs]