Neuville, The Last Cartridges, 1873, Photogravure 1881
"The Last Cartridges" antique engraving after the 1873' painting by Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville, engraved by Goupil, original photogravure plate issued in 1881; printed on heavy stock paper; signed in plate "A. De Neuville" and "Gravure Goupil et Cie."
Design 10" x 6.1/2" [254mm x 164mm], the entire plate is 12.1/8" x 8.1/2" [310mm x 210mm]; foxing (especially margins), very good condition. [see photos]
After military service in the 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian War, Neuville begun to depict episodes of this war in his works. His fame spread rapidly and was increased by "The Last Cartridges" (1873), memorializing an episode involving the Blue Division of the French marines, in which it is easy to discern the vast difference between the conventional treatment of military subjects, as practiced by Horace Vernet, and that of Neuville, a man who had lived the life that he painted.
Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville (1835-1885) was a French academic painter who studied under Eugene Delacroix. His dramatic and intensely patriotic subjects illustrated episodes from the Franco-Prussian War, the Crimean War, the Zulu War, and portraits of soldiers. Some of his works have been collected by the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and by the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
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.2-5 days) ------------- $18.50
Canada: 1st Class (c.2-6 weeks) ------ $22.50
World: 1st Class (c.2-8 weeks) ------- $32.50
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"The Last Cartridges" antique engraving after the 1873' painting by Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville, engraved by Goupil, original photogravure plate issued in 1881; printed on heavy stock paper; signed in plate "A. De Neuville" and "Gravure Goupil et Cie."
Design 10" x 6.1/2" [254mm x 164mm], the entire plate is 12.1/8" x 8.1/2" [310mm x 210mm]; foxing (especially margins), very good condition. [see photos]
After military service in the 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian War, Neuville begun to depict episodes of this war in his works. His fame spread rapidly and was increased by "The Last Cartridges" (1873), memorializing an episode involving the Blue Division of the French marines, in which it is easy to discern the vast difference between the conventional treatment of military subjects, as practiced by Horace Vernet, and that of Neuville, a man who had lived the life that he painted.
Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville (1835-1885) was a French academic painter who studied under Eugene Delacroix. His dramatic and intensely patriotic subjects illustrated episodes from the Franco-Prussian War, the Crimean War, the Zulu War, and portraits of soldiers. Some of his works have been collected by the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and by the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
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.2-5 days) ------------- $18.50
Canada: 1st Class (c.2-6 weeks) ------ $22.50
World: 1st Class (c.2-8 weeks) ------- $32.50
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