Touvent. by Maurice Estève, b.1904

Maurice Estève, b.1904
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Touvent.

Etching and aquatint printed in colours. 1959. Plate created by Jean Signovert at his studio under the direct supervision of Estève. Signed in pencil. Inscribed by Estève with the title and numbered (8) from the edition of 75. (There were also 4 proofs). Printed at the Atelier
Signovert. Issued by Editions Goldschmidt, Paris 1959.
Ref: Prudhomme-Moestrup 'Maurive Estève l'Oeuvre Gravé' no96

Beautiful impression with excellent colours. On pale cream laid Rives paper. Generally excellent condition; very slight traces of old mounting. Wide margins. Plate: 14 7/8 x 10 1/2ins (377x262mm)

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A particularly beautiful example of Maurice Estève's use of colour composition, and, very unusually, worked in the medium of colour etching - almost the whole of Estève's graphic work is in lithography and he only made about four images in etching techniques. 'Touvent' is the finest of those works, and the bite of the etching, the quality of surface texture, adds a further dimension to his imagery. In 'Touvent' Estève shows to the full extent his absolutely beautiful sense of colour arrangement and balance, creating a composition which has an extraordinary combination of both stimulation and peace.

Maurice Estève's earliest influences were from cubism and in particular from Leger's work in the 1920's, but with a constant consciousness of the ideas of Cézanne. By the late 1930's he was beginning to develop the use of free forms and strong but balanced colour which was to place him in the central role in the colour abstract movement for which he is now so widely admired. The hallmark of his work is the balance between boldness and a constant lyricism. Rhythmic strokes and shapes are linked to a superb sense of colour. Greatly interested in printmaking the first years after the War 'Touvent' is a work which shows his graphic art at its most beautiful.