6. Félix Bracquemond
(1833-1914)
Le Corbeau

(click on image to print)
Bracquemond, Le Corbeau

Le Corbeau

Etching, 1854, 230 x 184 mm., Béraldi 115 iv/v, Bouilon AC 6 v/vi, B. N. Inv. 48. Very fine impression on chine-appliqué, as published by l'Artiste, with good margins; tiny abrasion in the lower blank area of the chine. The plate is one of Bracquemond's grotesque images, the bird, and his many fellows in the background, being posed by a gibbet with a hangman's noose. Bracquemond was an influential artist who introduced many of his colleagues to etching and provided advice and aid to such as Manet, Buhot, Lepère and others. Though drawn to the representation of birds, his own work ranged widely from original conceptions to interpretations of the paintings and drawings of his contemporaries, from small book illustrations to large complex plates. His consistency lay in the brilliance of his technique. Once past his learning stage, there was no print-making problem he could not conquer.