Paul-Emile Lecomte Signed "Le Vieux Chene" 18" x 23" Old Oak Etching 1940 - $250 - (Seattle, WA)
Found at an estate sale, this enchanting 18" x 23" etching on 20" x 25.6" paper is signed in pencil in the lower right margin by acclaimed French artist Paul-Emile Lecomte. However his signature is obscured due to the unusual choice of mat! Published by 1940 by the Paris Etching Society of New York, a business endeavor of gallery owner Sydney Z. Lucas, it's titled "Le Vieux Chene" ("The Old Oak"). Like the signature, the title is written in pencil in the lower margin but is also obscured by the mat. A companion print by Lecomte, “Le Vieux Saules” ("The Old Willows"), was issued in the same year. A stamp on the back says "MADE IN FRANCE" (11th photo). I'm a little uncertain as to the exact technique used to produce this marvelous print. It may be a combination of an etching and a chromolithograph. The black lines are continuous (9th photo), as are those of an etching or engraving, and there are shallow embossed lines matching them on the back of the paper (11th photo). The colors don't appear hand-painted, however, but rather to be the irregular dots of a chromolithograph. This can be seen in the 9th photo, which is taken through a 10X loupe. Chromolithography is a difficult and exacting printing technique that uses a series of inked limestone plates, one for each color. The resulting print can be difficult to distinguish from a watercolor unless examined at high magnification. This older printing technique was the predecessor of offset lithography, the familiar modern technique which produces images using regular rows of tiny dots. As is unfortunately all too often the case at estate sales, I wasn't able to learn anything about the history of this marvelous print, which was framed under glass and backed with thin board. It's hinged to the mat at the top with brown paper tape (10th photo) rather than glued to the backing board. This method of matting and framing has kept it in very good condition over the last 75 years. In addition it may well have spent much …
ADVERTISEMENT
From ebay.com - 1 month ago