FEMME NUE ÉTENDUE - HAND-COLOURED ENGRAVED PRINT BY PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR, CIRCA 1919

A SUPERB EXAMPLE OF RENOIR'S LATER PRINTMAKING WORK, THIS HAND-COLOURED ENGRAVING DEPICTS A RECLINING FEMALE NUDE IN A LUSH LANDSCAPE SETTING. THE COMPOSITION SHOWCASES THE ARTIST'S CHARACTERISTIC SOFT MODELLING OF THE FIGURE AND HIS MASTERFUL HANDLING OF LIGHT AND SHADOW THROUGH THE ENGRAVING MEDIUM.

TECHNICAL DETAILS:
THE WORK ORIGINATES FROM A COPPER PLATE MASTER ORIGINALLY CREATED FOR THE PRINTING OF A LIMITED EDITION PUBLISHED IN FRANCE BY NOTED ART PUBLISHER AMBROISE VOLLARD IN 1919. THE MASTER, FROM WHICH THIS FINE ART MULTIPLE WAS PRINTED, WAS PRODUCED BEFORE RENOIR'S DEATH, BUT THE PRINT ITSELF WAS PUBLISHED WITHIN HIS LIFETIME AS PART OF VOLLARD'S LIMITED RELEASE.

THE IMAGE:
THE ENGRAVED COMPOSITION PRESENTS A RECLINING FEMALE FIGURE WITH REDDISH-BROWN HAIR, RENDERED WITH ANATOMICAL PRECISION CHARACTERISTIC OF RENOIR'S ACADEMIC TRAINING. SHE RECLINES ON PURPLE DRAPERY AGAINST A VERDANT LANDSCAPE BACKGROUND FEATURING WILLOW TREES AND DISTANT FOLIAGE RENDERED IN SOFT GREENS AND BLUES. THE SKY IS RENDERED IN PALE BLUE WITH ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE. THE FIGURE'S FLESH TONES ARE WARM AND NATURALISTIC, ACHIEVED THROUGH CAREFUL HAND-COLOURING WITH WATERCOLOUR PIGMENTS APPLIED OVER THE ENGRAVED LINE WORK.

PROVENANCE AND AUTHENTICATION:
ACCOMPANIED BY A CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY DATED JANUARY 12, 2001, ISSUED BY AMBROISE VOLLARD ESTATE, PARIS, FRANCE. THE CERTIFICATE CONFIRMS THIS IS AN ORIGINAL HAND-COLOURED ENGRAVING FROM THE COPPER PLATE MASTER FIRST CREATED FOR THE PRINTING OF A LIMITED EDITION PUBLISHED IN 1919. THE DOCUMENT VERIFIES THE ENGRAVING WAS TAKEN FROM A PAINTING AND PRODUCED USING EQUATINT GROUNDING—A METHOD OF REPRODUCTION BASED ON AQUATINT GROUNDING OF AN IMAGE PRODUCED IN A DIFFERENT MEDIUM FOR PREPARATION OTHER THAN THE ORIGINAL LIMITED RELEASE.

CONDITION:
EXCELLENT CONDITION THROUGHOUT. THE HAND-APPLIED WATERCOLOUR PIGMENTS REMAIN VIBRANT WITH NO FADING OR DISCOLOURATION. THE PAPER IS BRIGHT AND CLEAN WITH NO FOXING, TEARS, STAINS, OR CREASING. THE ENGRAVED LINE WORK IS CRISP AND WELL-DEFINED. THE PRINT IS PROFESSIONALLY MOUNTED ON ARCHIVAL-QUALITY BOARD WITH A BLACK MAT AND PROTECTIVE GLAZING. THE GILT WOODEN FRAME IS IN GOOD CONDITION WITH MINOR AGE-RELATED PATINA CONSISTENT WITH EARLY 20TH CENTURY MANUFACTURE.

DIMENSIONS:
IMAGE: 22 CM HEIGHT × 28 CM WIDTH
FRAMED: APPROXIMATELY 45 CM HEIGHT × 50 CM WIDTH

SIGNIFICANCE:
THIS HAND-COLOURED ENGRAVING REPRESENTS AN IMPORTANT EXAMPLE OF RENOIR'S LATER PRINTMAKING PRACTICE AND HIS COLLABORATION WITH VOLLARD, ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ART PUBLISHERS OF THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY. THE WORK DEMONSTRATES THE ARTIST'S CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT WITH THE FEMALE NUDE AS A SUBJECT AND HIS MASTERY OF THE ENGRAVING MEDIUM. HAND-COLOURED PRINTS FROM THIS EDITION ARE INCREASINGLY SOUGHT BY COLLECTORS OF IMPRESSIONIST AND POST-IMPRESSIONIST WORKS ON PAPER.

11654+8

Location of item: 60 Marple Avenue, Villawood, NSW, Australia

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