Etude de Femme Vue de Dos. Study of a Nude Model, From Behind. by Eugčne Delacroix, 1798-1863

Eugčne Delacroix, 1798-1863
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Etude de Femme Vue de Dos. Study of a Nude Model, From Behind.

Original etching with drypoint in black ink. 1833. Signed in the plate. Exceptionally rare contemporary impression, one of only a very few proofs pulled, probably printed c.1847 on the press of his friend Villot. (Prior to the first issued edition for Cadart before lettering). Superbly
hand-printed and wiped.
Ref: Delteil-Delacroix Peintre Graveur 21,amended state 2a/

Superb sparkling hand printed and wiped proof on laid 18th century paper with bunch of grapes watermark. Original unrestored conditon; surface excellent, some slight traces of foxing. Full margins. Sheet: 11 x 173/4ins (280x450mm). Plate: 4 3/8 x 6 3/8ins (112x162mm).

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Delacroix?s ?Étude de Femme Nue? is one of the greatest masterpieces of French 19th century printmaking. This is an extremely rare early lifetime proof printed for Delacroix by Villot. On the basis of the paper and the style of the wiping of the ink on the plate it was probably printed in the 1840?s. Delacroix drew the etching in 1833, working in the studio of his friend François Villot, but neither then, or in the 1840?s when he was again working at Villot?s, did he pull any formal edition, merely a few proofs. The first full edition was printed by Delâtre for the print editor Cadart in 1865 after he had acquired the plate from the sale of the contents of Delacroix?s studio following the artist?s death in 1863.

The theme of the ?Étude de Femme Nue? was almost certainly based on a drawing made by Delacroix in a maison close when he was travelling in Morocco in 1832. He had joined a diplomatic mission to the country led by the Comte de Mornay but he spent much of his time sketching and painting in the towns that they visited. The light and atmosphere that he found in Morocco were to be one of the major inspirational forces in his artistic career. The brilliant sunlight created an intensity of colour and a drama of tonality which was to change the whole manner in which he approached his painting and to point the way forward to the ?visual sensation? of impressionism. At the same time his observation of the way of life of the people increased his desire for a greater theme of realism in his art, but a realism linked to an expression of the emotional richness which he sensed so powerfully.

One of the principal artistic reasons that Delacroix became interested in etching, and indeed lithography, as a medium for his art was that it allowed him to concentrate on the expression of tone values. The contrasts between brilliant highlight and varied degrees of shadow was one of the things that had most excited him in Morocco. In etching he could express these ideas without the ?distraction? of colour. ?Étude de Femme Nue? shows with what profound inspiration he used the medium.