Environs de Rouen

Environs de Rouen (Seine-Inférieure). CHAUVEL, Théophile-Narcisse Original etching and drypoint, 1873. Leaf size: 34.2 x 46.7 cm. Platemark size: 15.8 x 23.4 cm. A fine impression on laid paper, published by Alfred Cadart in Paris. Print signed Th. Chauvel 73 in the plate. This print is truly very beautiful and cannot fail to appeal to lovers of etching. Théophile-Narcisse Chauvel (1831-1909), close in spirit to the Barbizon School, here renders with finesse a landscape of the surroundings of Rouen, alternating trees, path and Norman countryside. The supple line and the richness of the biting render with subtlety the effects of light and the textures of the vegetation, characteristic of his engraved work. Alfred Cadart (1828-1875), the principal promoter of the original etching in France in the 1860s-1870s, contributed greatly to the circulation of Chauvel's prints among amateurs and collectors. References: Beraldi, Les Graveurs du XIXᵉ siècle; IFF, Inventaire du Fonds Français, Graveurs du XIXᵉ siècle.