The Blacksmith (Marechal Ferrant)

 

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)