Grand-Mère et Louise Nue Assise par Terre. Grandmother with Louise Nude Seated on the Ground. by Suzanne Valadon, 1867-1938

Suzanne Valadon, 1867-1938
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Grand-Mère et Louise Nue Assise par Terre. Grandmother with Louise Nude Seated on the Ground.

Original etching with aquatint and open-bite lavis in black ink. 1910. Signed in pencil. (Also signed and dated in the plate). Early proof - before the edition of 75 impressions printed by Daragnès for Valadon in 1932.
Ref: Petrides - Valadon L'Oeuvre Gravé no E 17

Exceptionally fine impression with hand-wiped plate tone. On pale cream almost smooth stiff wove paper. Excellent condition. With small 3/4-1 1/2inch margins. Sheet: 13 1/2 x 11ins. Plate: 10 3/4 x 9 3/8ins (274x240mm).

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Valadon was largely self-taught as an artist, and she began to draw for her own interest whilst also acting as a model for many of the leading painters of the Impressionist circle. Degas saw her drawings and was immediately struck by the creativity and the individuality of her talent. Moreover she had an interest in studies of every-day realism which accorded closely with his own ideas. Degas encouraged her greatly but also taught her to adhere to her own personal style. It is this style, simplification of form, emphasis on contour, stylised shading, which can be seen in this study, a typical theme of her art.

It was also Degas who introduced Valadon to the idea of making etchings. Like him she was inspired by the way that the blacks and textures of the inks could be used to enhance the atmosphere of her composition. Valadon?s prints remain some of the most individual and inspired images of the impressionist period. The impression above is an exceptionally fine proof.