Charles Dufresne (1876-1938), Chasseurs de Lion (The Lion Hunters), etching, aquatint and drypoint, 1921, signed in pencil lower right and numbered (40/40) lower left [also signed in the plate lower center]. Reference: Thomas Dufresne 39. In very good condition, with full margins, on an ivory/tan laid Arches paper, with a (partial) Arches watermark. 11 3/4 x 14 7/8k, the sheet 14 5/8 x 21 3/4 inches.

Published by Editions Sagot, with the blindstamp of Edmund Sagot Lugt 2254) bottom margin.

A fine rich impression, printed in a brownish/black ink, with substantial drypoint burr.

The Lion Hunters is a tour de force of printmaking. Dufresne skillfully utilizes a range of techniques including etching, drypoint, aquatint and perhaps even soft-ground etching.

Dufresne’s stunning composition in The Lion Hunters of course shows the influence of both cubism and Parisian School – after all he was born in France and studied at the Edole des Beaux Arts – but it also shows the influence of the years he spent in Africa, and his origins as part of a seafaring family. In 1910 he won the Prix de l’Afrique du Nord and then spent two years in Algeria, which stirred his interest in exoticism and lyricism.

In The Lion Hunters a bourgeois figure in a suit, lower right, appears to aim his rifle at a lion coming upon a fallen native; another hunter sits on a horse running through the center of the composition, and at the upper right a lioness looks on, ready to pounce.

]]> http://harrisschrank.com/chasseurs-de-lion-the-lion-hunters.htm/feed 0 http://harrisschrank.com/une-escale-au-brasil-a-stopover-in-brazil.htm http://harrisschrank.com/une-escale-au-brasil-a-stopover-in-brazil.htm#comments Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:17:34 +0000 Harris Schrank http://harrisschrank.com/?p=1120 Charles Dufresne (1876-1938), Une Escale au Brasil (A Stopover in Brazil), etching and drypoint, c. 1920, signed in pencil lower right margin and inscribed “epreuve de artist” lower left. Reference: Thomas Dufresne 35. Edition of only 25. In very good condition, with full margins on a cream wove paper, with the watermark Van Gelder Zonen and also Alfred Porcabeuf (?), 9 1/8 x 12, the sheet 12 1/2 x 18 inches, archival matting. A fine impression of this artist’s proof, printed in black ink. Dufresne used techniques beyond etching and drypoint here, perhaps softground etching and a piercing tool too [...]]]>

Charles Dufresne (1876-1938), Une Escale au Brasil (A Stopover in Brazil), etching and drypoint, c. 1920, signed in pencil lower right margin and inscribed “epreuve de artist” lower left. Reference: Thomas Dufresne 35. Edition of only 25. In very good condition, with full margins on a cream wove paper, with the watermark Van Gelder Zonen and also Alfred Porcabeuf (?), 9 1/8 x 12, the sheet 12 1/2 x 18 inches, archival matting.

A fine impression of this artist’s proof, printed in black ink.

Dufresne used techniques beyond etching and drypoint here, perhaps softground etching and a piercing tool too for dotting effects.

Une Escale was first exhibited at the Paris Salon de la Societe Nationale des Beaux Arts in 1921, where it caused much comment regarding both its marvelous composition, and its subject matter – it led to much speculation about the artist (e.g., what’s he doing in Brazil? What is the meaning of the composition – the well-dressed fop at the table (presumably the artist); the sailor and largish waitress, and the nude women lounging or standing about? Dufresne’s stunning composition in Une Escale shows the influence of cubism and the Parisian School – after all he was born in France and studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts – but it also shows the influence of the years he spent in Africa, and his origins as part of a seafaring family. In 1910 won the Prix de l’Afrique du Nord and then spent two years in Algeria, which stirred his interest in exoticism and lyricism.