Charles Meryon’s etching, “Louis Jacques Marie Bizeul”, 1861

Charles Meryon (aka Charles Méryon) (1821–1868)

“Louis Jacques Marie Bizeul” (aka “L.J. Marie Bizeul, a Breton archaeologist”), 1861, based on a photograph of L.J. Marie Bizeul, taken in 1860 when he was aged 75, printed in Paris by Abraham Beillet (aka Beillet & Forestier) (fl.1850–1876) and published in the first volume (of two) of Benjamin Fillon and Octave de Rochebrune’s “Poitou et Vendée, études historiques et artistiques”.

Note that Charles Meryon also made an etching of the archaeologist, Benjamin Fillon (1819–1881), who is one of the writers of the book in which Meyon’s etching, “Louis Jacques Marie Bizeul”, features (see https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/377943). The other writer, Octave de Rochebrune (1824–1900), is a well-known printmaker famous for his large etchings of buildings and monuments that (to my eyes) have some of the same magic of ominous presence that Meryon instilled into his prints; see for example, “View of a Castle”, 1870 (http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.340241) and “Interior of the Lantern of the Castle of Chambord”, 1872 (http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.102856).

Etching with engraving on heavy wove paper with wide margins (as published).

Size: (sheet) 30.7 x 22.8 cm; (plate) 16.9 x 11.8 cm; (image borderline) 12.1 x 10.4 cm.

Lettered in plate within the image borderline: (upper centre) “‘75^e ANNÉE DE SON AGE.’”

Lettered in plate below the image borderline: (left) “C M. sculp^t 1861.”; (centre) “BIZEUL/ (LOUIS JACQUES MARIE)/ 1860”; (right) “Imp. Beillet, Paris.”

State v (of v) with the addition of lettering for publication.

Delteil & Wright 83 v (Loys Delteil & Harold J.L. Wright 1989, “Catalogue Raisonné of the Etchings of Charles Meryon”, San Francisco, Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, n.p., cat. no. 83 [5^th state]).

See also the descriptions of this print offered by The British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1865-0114-138; https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/377895.   

Condition: a strong and well-printed impression with wide margins around the platemark. The sheet is in a near pristine condition for its age with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions or significant stains.

I am selling this “rock solid” portrait of the Breton archaeologist, Louis Jacques Marie Bizeul, based on a photograph taken in 1860 of the sitter in his 75^th year—interestingly there is one curious deviation in the transcription of the composition of the photograph to the etching and that is the sitter’s far shoulder that Meryon advises “[he had raised] slightly [to bring] it closer to the body” (Meryon, in a letter to Monsieur Benjamin Fillon, February 9^th, 1863)—for AU$327 (currently US$220.11/EUR201.55/GBP173.83 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 this keenly observed portrait of what appears to be a commanding and possibly a “no nonsense’ archaeologist—please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.