Hermine David - Blacksmith

Hermine David (1886-1970), Marechal Ferrant (The Blacksmith), etching and drypoint, signed in pencil lower right [also signed in the plate lower left], in very good condition (remains of prior hinging verso). The full sheet, printed on an Arches wove paper, 7 5/8 x 10 1/8, the sheet 9 7/8 x 13 inches.

A fine impression of this great rarity. We have not encountered another impression of this print on the art market.

In this print, in a departure from the sharply delineated drypoint work characterizing many of her prints, David achieves a range of grey shadings through extensive use of drypoint cross hatching. There is much rich black burr from the drypoint work in the print, but what stands out is the varied pattern of light and shadowing throughout the dense composition.

Granddaughter of the famous Neo-Classical painter Jacques Louis David, Hermine David was a relatively well-known printmaker,  watercolorist and book illustrator in the 1920′s and ’30′s.  She lived in the United States for a while with her husband and fellow artist Jules Pascin.

David - Blacksmith (Detail)

Hermine David, drypoint and engraving Boxing Match, circa 1927, signed and numbered (4/10) in pencil, lower margin. Reference: Jean Adhemar, Inventaire Bibliotheque Nationale #12. In excellent condition, with full margins (some staining top margin near edge) (8 1/4 x 9 1/2, the sheet 12 3/4 x 16 1/4 inches), on BFK Rives cream wove paper, archival mounting.

A fine impression, with the burr from the drypoint giving the composition an atmospheric quality, while at the same time the drypoint is used to convey even the finest details of the many figures.

Hermine David (1886-1970) studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts from the age of 16, and showed frequently at the Salon des Femmes Peintures from 1905. She met Jules Pascin in 1907, becoming his steady companion; they later married.  David and Pascin traveled together to the US, where Hermine continued her successful career, then returned to Europe in 1920. Her flair for detailed drypoint work is evident in the Boxing Match, as is her talent at composition.

This impression captures the gay atmosphere of this event, a match – really a social event – taking place in a baroque Parisian theatre.

Hermine David (1886-1970) La Corrida, etching and drypoint, 1929,  signed and numbered (20/100) in pencil (Inventaire Bibliotheque Nationale de France #22).  From Trois Plates au Nouvel Essor. On a medium weight cream wove paper, in very good condition with only the slightest trace of light stain, the matrix perfect, with wide margins, 10 x 11 3/4, the sheet 14 x 18 inches, archival acid free matting.

A fine, bright impression, with substantial burr from the drypoint and engraving work.

Hermine David was an established artist in Paris from about 1905 onward, even before she met Jules Pascin (in 1907), who she eventually married.  She and  Pascin exhibited in the US from about 1915-20 while they lived here, then moved back to France.  Although David worked into the ’60s, her work of the ’20s and ’30s, particularly the drypoints, is perhaps most renowned today; this is the period when La Corrida was made.