"Bastienne 66 Cote Interieur de la Port de Versaille" by Maxime Lalanne, Fr., (1827-1886)

Part of the series "Souvenirs Artistique du Siege de Paris".  Full title of the work is "Bastienne 66 Cote Interieur de la Port de Versaille, view sur St. Cloud, Montretout, et la Mont Valerien" 1870-71, Etching, 1879-81, ed. unknown, 6-3/16 x 9-1/4, a proof before letters, on antique cream laid paper, with the collection lalanne ink stamp lower left margin corner. A beautiful impression of this early state. Maxime Lalanne's landmark book A Treatise on Etching, paved the way for theFrench Etching Revival in the mid-nineteenth century which lead to the American Etching Revival shortly thereafter. Lalanne's book influenced the course of American printmaking in a grand way. This series of etchings he executed documenting the ravages of the Franco Prussian War and Seige of Paris are marvels of precise observation, rendering, and controlled etching to vary the weight of line. This meticulous control allowed Lalanne to achieve a sense of distance and atmosphere using only line, with no inky manipulations. This was quite a virtuostic feat, but Lalanne's significance and the subtle beauty of his work is neglected today.