Alphonse Legro’s etching, “La Tête de Moine”, 1868/70

Alphonse Legros (1837–1911)

“La Tête de Moine” (aka “Le Moine à l'Orgue”; “The monk at the organ”), 1868/70, published in London by Seeley, Jackson and Halliday in Philip Gilbert Hamerton’s (ed.) “The Portfolio”, no.9, September 1870. The portrayed head is a section of the reworked and cut larger plate featuring a monk playing a church organ, “Le Moine à l'Orgue” (see a copy of this larger print held by the British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1879-0510-390).

Etching on fine Oriental laid paper (as described by the BM), trimmed close to the image borderline/platemark as published and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (support sheet) 30 x 26.6 cm; (sheet) 10.5 x 10.8 cm; (image borderline) 10 x 10.1 cm.

Beraldi 63 (Henri Béraldi 1885–1892, “Les graveurs du XIXe siècle: Guide de l'amateur d'estampes modernes”, vol. XII, Paris, Librairie L. Conquet, p. 98, cat. no. 63); IFF 41 (Jean Adhémar & Jacques Lethève 1954, “Inventaire du Fonds Francais Apres 1800”, vol. XIII, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, p. 392, cat. no. 41); Malassis & Thibaudeau 63 (Auguste Poulet-Malassis & Alphonse Wyatt Thibaudeau, “L'Oeuvre gravé et lithographié de Alphonse Legros”, Paris, p. 5, cat. no. 63); Bliss 63 (Campbell Dodgson 1923, “A Catalogue of the Etchings, Drypoints and Lithographs by Professor Alphonse Legros, in the Collection of Frank E. Bliss”, London, p. 15, cat. no. 63).

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Head and shoulder of a monk, in profile to right; after plate was cut down. c.1870 Etching, printed on thin oriental laid paper” (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1871-0812-728).

See also the description offered by the Metropolitan Museum of Art:

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/812900.

Condition: a strong and well-printed (near faultless) impression trimmed close to the image borderline (as published) and laid upon a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper. The sheet is in a near pristine condition with no tears, holes, folds, stains or foxing.

I am selling this curiously interesting small etching that was once a section of a larger plate showing a monk playing an organ set against a view to what I assume is a monastery’s cloister, for AU$257 (currently US$191.31/EUR1165.02/GBP140.24 at the time of 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 beautiful and technically superb etching by one of the major 19^th century printmakers, 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