Ferdinand Gaillard (aka Claude Ferdinand Gaillard)
(1834-87)
“Crepuscule”
(dusk), 1876
The subject of
this delicate engraving is Michelangelo’s famous marble figure of “Dusk”
featured on the Tomb of Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici in the Medici Chapel.
Engraving on vellum
Size: (sheet) 19.9 x 27.9 cm
An early proof
before lettering
Condition: an
incredibly delicate impression—so finely executed that, without examining the print with the aid of a jeweller’s loupe, I struggle to see how it
was engraved—with wide margins in near pristine condition and
printed as a proof on the rare material for engraving: vellum. There are pencil notations by a previous collector on the lower edge of
the sheet (recto).
I am selling
this technically superb print by a master from the 19th century for a total
cost of AU$115 (currently US$87.23/EUR77.95/GBP68.55 at the time of this
listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.
If you are
interested in purchasing this graphic representation of Michelangelo’s famous
sculpture, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send
you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.
This print has been sold
This is one of
those tiny prints that I wonder how it was ever crafted. Looking through a
jeweller’s loupe I can see the ultra-fine engraved lines rendering the figure of
Michelangelo’s famous sculpture, “Dusk”, featured on the Tomb of Lorenzo di
Piero de’ Medici in the Medici Chapel, but I simply cannot understand how a
craftsman could have the steadiness of hand and clarity of vision to execute
the image.
Regarding the
use of vellum (i.e. the skin of a hair bearing animal, like a cow, as opposed
to a fur bearing animal like a sheep), this is a rare
material for printmakers to choose for their prints as it is expensive. When
looking at this proof impression, however, I can understand the reason:
Gaillard needed the fine grain of the skin to capture each of his tiny engraved
lines.
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