L’Abside de Notre Dame de Paris – 4th State
Charles Meryon (1821-1868), L’Abside de Notre Dame de Paris, etching with engraving and drypoint, 1854. References: Schneiderman 45, fourth state (of 9), Delteil 38, fourth state (of 8). In good condition, with thin area top edge, with full margins, 6 1/2 x 11 5/8, the sheet 10 5/8 x 17 inches.
Provenance:
Knoedler (with their stock number K 3025)
A very good impression, printed in dark brownish/black ink on an ivory laid paper with the HUDELIST watermark (characteristic of impressions of L’Abside in this state), printed personally by the artist.
The eminent art critic Phillipe Burty wrote of L’Abside: “The view of Notre-Dame…is a magisterial sight. The church of Notre Dame seems to have exerted a great attraction on the dreamy spirit of the artist. It has dictated to a poet [Victor Hugo] one of the beautiful books of our generation; it has inspired in Meryon his most beautiful plate.”