Adolphe
Appian (1818–1898)
“Wharf with Sail Boats on the River, Environs de Lyon” (aka “Environs
de Lyon [Petite planche]”), 1879.
Note: Appian did two versions of this scene. The other print—“Environs
de Lyon (Grande planche)—is larger and is a virtual mirror image of this
composition; see the Yale University Collection: https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/12825
Etching on fine wove paper (Japan) (Note: there are subtle
differences between the Oriental papers of the 19th century and
earlier. Chinese paper tends to have the imprint of the bamboo screen of its
manufacture whereas the Japanese papers at this time did not. At a more fundamental
level, however, the Chinese papers were generally thinner than Japanese papers.
As this impression is on paper that is smooth, comparatively thick and does not
exhibit an imprint of its manufacture I have described it as Japanese.)
Size: (sheet) 14.4 x 19.1 cm; (plate) 11.4 x 15.5 cm; (image
borderline) 9.1 x 13.7 cm
Signed on the plate at upper left corner: “APPIAN”
Lifetime impression of the first and only state.
Curtis & Prouté 57i (Atherton Cutiis & Paul Prouté 1968, “Adolphe
Appian son Oeuvre Gravé et Lithographié”, Paul Prouté, London).
See also the description of this print at the Fine Arts Museums of
San Francisco: https://art.famsf.org/adolphe-appian/wharf-sail-boats-river-environs-de-lyon-19633031017
Condition: a richly inked and faultless museum-quality impression
in pristine condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions,
stains, foxing or signs of handling). Note that this is a VERY small print.
I am selling this small and what I see as a very poetically moody
print, typifying the best works of this famous artist closely connected to the
Barbizon School, for the combined total cost of AU$179 (currently US$141.89/EUR116.25/GBP103.36
at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the
world.
If you are interested this bold and romantically beautiful etching,
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
Appian was active as a printmaker at the height of the shift from
the highly disciplined and formulaic line-work characterising the rendering style
of engraving in the first half of the 19th century to the loosely
laid lines characterising the renewed interest in the etchings of Rembrandt in
the latter half of the century.
In this print, for instance, the rendering of the harbour scene is
far from an objective view. This is a mindscape of angst and melancholy that
just happens to feature a harbour scene. What I mean by this description is
that Appian’s strokes with the etching needle are all about capturing an
impression of what he observed looking at the sailing boats. Indeed, this
impression is not only about fleeting observations as the bundling of the lines
and the rhythms that they create in the composition embody the intense feelings
that he seems to have experienced.
