La Première Toilette. Dressing for their First Dance. Deux Jeune Filles à Leur Toilette. Two Girls Dressing. by Charles Maurin, 1856-1914

Charles Maurin, 1856-1914
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La Première Toilette. Dressing for their First Dance. Deux Jeune Filles à Leur Toilette. Two Girls Dressing.

Original etching with softground and aquatint, printed in colours à la poupée (the colours individually painted onto the plate). c.1895. Signed in pencil. Numbered (10) in pencil from the edition of 50. Printed by the artist. Issued by Sagot (with his inscription of the title on the reverse), Paris c.1895.

Beautiful impression with excellent soft glowing colours. On pale cream japan paper. Generally excellent original unrestored condition, slightest traces of old mounting on the reverse. Full margins. Sheet: 19 5/8 x 12 5/8ins. Plate: 16 1/8 x 9 3/4ins (410 x 250mm).

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An extremely beautiful example of Maurin?s inspiration as a colour etcher; a composition glowing with soft colour and light, and filled with the atmosphere of the turn-of-the-century.

Charles Maurin was one of the most influential artists in the revival of interest in the art of the colour etching at the end of the 19th century in France. A friend of the painters of the Nabis circle, Bonnard, Vuillard, Denis etc., his themes were mostly inspired from the quiet emotion of interior domestic life - here two girls dressing for their first evening party - and they have a real charm. However his great contribution to the art of the period was his exceptional talent in the art of colour etching. This form of printmaking had largely become neglected. He saw its unique visual possibilities and was instrumental in its revival.

Using a combination of multiple plate printing (with the colours on separate plates) and à la poupée inking (painting multiple ink colours onto a single plate at the same time) he achieved qualities of colour and light which were revolutionary. In this composition the way that the colours blend, the yellow light of the window echoed in the yellow dress, the pink curtains echoed n the pink dress for example, so that the whole image glows is wonderfully evocative.