De Demanne after Deshayes

De Demanne after the illustration by Deshayes

published in Paris by Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Duchesne in "Guide de la Culture des Bois, ou Herbier Forestier," (the atlas contains 64 lithographs), 1826

“Pin à Pignon” [Pinyon Pine], 1825–26.

Lithograph on wove paper, (sheet) 42.2 x 27 cm.

Inscribed (lower right) “Deshayes delt.”; (lower centre) “Pin à Pignon.”; (lower right) “Lith: de Demanne.”

Condition: rich impression with generous margins. There is very light spotting, otherwise the sheet is in excellent condition for its age.

I am selling this exceptionally fine lithograph along with the lithograph shown below, which is also of a fir/pine specimen by the same artist, (i.e. two lithographs by Demanne after Deshayes) for AU$110 in total (currently US$81.56/EUR74.09/GBP60.86 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world. If you are interested in purchasing this pair of botanical drawings, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Sometimes when looking at drawings by a master the subtle principles underpinning the artist’s approach to portraying a subject can be overlooked. Mindful of this potential, I thought I would share a few of the principles that caught my eye that makes this drawing wonderful.

First, note how the artist—actually there are two artists involved in this study: Deshayes who made the original drawing and Demanne who translated/copied his drawing for this print—has used “white” lines to portray the individual pine-needles when they are clumped as a dark mass and “black” lines to show the pine-needles at the outer rim of their clumps.

Second, note how the artist has applied the principle of only showing details, such as contour marks (i.e. lines that are drawn to show the curving form of the subject), in the half lights in the rendering of the cone. By this I mean that the darker areas of the cone towards its base are not encumbered with contour lines; the half-lit areas around the cone’s middle have contour marks, while the more lit aspects of the cone towards its tip have very few contour marks.

Third, note how the artist uses small lines and dots to punctuate spots of deepest shadow (e.g. deepest points in the abutting segments of the cone) and critical textures (e.g. the spiky nodes at the base of the lower branch).

De Demanne after the illustration by Deshayes

published in Paris by Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Duchesne in "Guide de la Culture des Bois, ou Herbier Forestier," (the atlas contains 64 lithographs), 1826.

“Sapin Épicéa” [Spruce Fir], 1825–26.

Lithograph on wove paper, (sheet) 42.2 x 27.4 cm.

Inscribed (lower right) “Deshayes del.”; (lower centre) “Sapin épicéa.”; (lower right) “Lith. de Demanne.”

Condition: rich impression with generous margins. There is very light spotting, otherwise the sheet is in excellent condition for its age.