Jules Dupré's lithograph, “Bank of the Somme (Picardy)”, 1836

Jules Dupré (1811–1889)

“Bank of the Somme (Picardy)” (aka “Bords de la Somme [Picardie]”), 1836, published in “L’Artiste” in Paris (1836, series 1, vol. XII, p. 120), printed by Benard et Frey.

Lithograph on wove paper, signed with the artist’s initials on the plate, trimmed with small margins around the image borderline and retaining the lettered title and publication details, backed on a support sheet.

Size: (support sheet) 27.7 x 34.3 cm; (sheet) 17 x 23.5 cm; (image borderline) 13.7 x 21.3 cm

Inscribed on plate within the image borderline: (lower left corner) “J.D”

Lettered on plate above the image borderline: (centre) “L’ARTISTE”

Lettered on plate below the image borderline: (left) “Jules Dupré”; (centre) “Bords de la Somme, / (Picardie)”; (right) “Lith. de Benard et Frey.”

State i (of ii) before the change of the publication to, “Souvenirs d’artistes”, printed above the image borderline at left, and the addition of, “Jules Dupré del., et lith., Imp. Bertauts, Paris.", below the borderline at right.

Melot 1981 Du 6.1 (Michel Melot 1981, “Graphic Art of the Pre-Impressionists”, New York, Abrams, p. 285); Delteil 1906 no. 6, State i/ii (Loys Delteil 1906–1926, “Le peintre-graveur illustre.” 31 vols. Paris); Hédiard 1903 6 (Germain Hédiard n.d. “Les Maȉtres de la Lithographie”).; Aubrun 1974 7 (Marie-Madeleine Aubrun 1974, “Jules Dupré, 1811–1889, catalogue raisonné de l’oeuvre peint, dessiné et grave”, Paris, L Laget)

An excellent description of this print is offered by “Art of the Print”:

http://www.artoftheprint.com/artistpages/dupres_jules_bordsdelasommepicardie.htm

See the brief description of this print at the National Gallery of Art, Washington: https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.58109.html

Condition: faultless impression in excellent condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains or foxing). The sheet is trimmed with small margins around the text and image borderline and is backed with a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper.

I am selling this first state, rare lithograph—mindful that Dupre executed only ten litho plates in total—for AU$169 (currently US$124.41/EUR107.15/GBP95.62 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world (but not, of course, any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries).

If you are interested in purchasing this masterpiece of 19^th century romanticism—a poetic vision of landscape with clear links to Constable—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

When I look at this deeply poetic landscape by Dupré, I am reminded of Constable’s images of landscape that are full of light and air. Certainly, Dupré’s trees have room for the birds to fly through like Constable’s trees, but I also see the way that light seems to flicker in the foliage of Dupré’s trees in a similar way to Constable’s touches of white designed to replicate the glistening effect of water droplets on leaves.

There are, of course, significant differences of mindset separating Dupré’s and Constable’s visions of landscape. Dupré’s landscapes were more mindscapes—concoctions evolved from thinking and conceptualised experiences. By contrast, Constable’s landscapes were rooted in sensory personal experiences of working outdoors with an interest in keeping the spirit of the experienced moment alive.