Provence Courtship Etching 1884 – Eugène Burnand Original Print

Description

Provence courtship etching by Eugène Burnand, published in 1884, depicting a young man and woman during a quiet romantic encounter in the countryside of southern France.

We have given this composition the descriptive title The Courtship Declaration. A young Provençal woman is seated in the grass, her hands joined and her expression thoughtful, while a young man reclines before her and appears to address her. The restrained gestures and the distance maintained between the two figures give the scene an intimate but dignified character.

Eugène Burnand (1850-1921) was a Swiss painter, draughtsman and printmaker celebrated for his precise observation of rural life and his highly accomplished treatment of human figures and animals. His work combines academic drawing with a direct and naturalistic understanding of country people and their surroundings.

Burnand is particularly associated with the illustrations created for Frédéric Mistral’s famous Provençal poem Mireille. The major Hachette edition published in Paris in 1884 contained twenty-five etchings drawn and engraved by Burnand, together with numerous illustrations in the text. The date, subject and execution of the present sheet are consistent with this important Provençal period of the artist’s career.

The plate is signed Eug. Burnand in the lower-right part of the composition. A date that appears to read 1881 is also visible beneath the signature. This indicates that the plate was probably prepared before its publication in 1884, a normal practice for an ambitious illustrated edition requiring several years of artistic preparation.

This original antique impression is printed on a thin sheet of China paper mounted onto a larger laid-paper support. This process, traditionally known as chine collé, was used by printmakers to obtain particularly delicate lines, subtle tonal contrasts and a smoother printing surface while retaining the strength of a heavier backing sheet.

The fine engraved lines are especially effective in the treatment of the figures’ clothing, the grass surrounding them and the young man’s dark waistcoat. Burnand creates depth through variations in line density rather than through heavy shadow. The largely open background directs attention towards the psychological relationship between the two figures.

The scene is offered under a descriptive English title rather than presented as bearing an official engraved title. It is an appealing example of nineteenth-century French-language book illustration and would complement a collection devoted to Provence, Frédéric Mistral, rural life, European realism or original nineteenth-century prints.

Details

• Artist: Eugène Burnand (1850-1921).

• Descriptive title: The Courtship Declaration.

• Subject: romantic rural scene in Provence.

• Technique: original etching, possibly finished with drypoint.

• Printing: monochrome.

• Plate signature: Eug. Burnand.

• Date visible in the plate: apparently 1881.

• Publication date: 1884.

• Paper: China paper mounted onto a laid-paper support, or chine collé.

• Laid-paper support: 29.3 × 22.8 cm.

• China-paper sheet: 21.4 × 15.9 cm.

• Framing: supplied unframed.