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49. Ludovic-Napoléon, Vicomte Lepic (1839-1889) Le Verger du Roi Louis (The Orchard of King Louis)
Etching, 1869, 131 x 278 mm., plus text plate 70 x 112 mm. Fine impression on white wove paper with good margins. Based on a text from the dramatic playlet Gringoire by Théodore de Banville, a portion of which is etched on a separate plate and printed below the image, the print depicts a sight from the time of Louis XI (1423-1483) of France. The historical and literary details may be obscure, but the image is perfectly clear: an orchard of hanged men. Jacques Callot did a somewhat similar etching of a hanging tree in his Misères de la Guerre series, but this one, if anything, is even more brutal and more bizarre. |
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