1951 After H. Rousseau "Landscape and Four Fishermen" Full-Color Parisian Print

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A lovely vintage First Edition full-color print of painting "Les Pecheurs a La Ligne" (Landscape and Four Fishermen, 1905 ), … Read more A lovely vintage First Edition full-color print of painting "Les Pecheurs a La Ligne" (Landscape and Four Fishermen, 1905 ), by Henri Rousseau from limited edition portfolio, published by Les Editions Du Chene in Paris, France in 1951. Signed in the print. Hand tipped-in on a board of heavy paper. Numbered. Information regarding the original artwork will be found by lifting the piece. Superb quality of printing and materials. Excellent condition - never framed.

Overall 14.75"W x 10.75"H
Image 10.25"W x 8.5"H

Rousseau liked to depict ordinary people at leisure. Here, the aeroplane flying overhead introduces a modern touch into the composition, as does the factory chimney in the background. Rousseau depicted airships and aeroplanes several times in his work, which made him a pioneer in representing modernity. This theme would be widely taken up by the painter Robert Delaunay (1885-1941), who greatly admired Rousseau’s work. The conquest of the skies, the great challenge of the era, was the top story in the press. The aeroplane is perfectly recognisable: it is the biplane of Wilbur Wright (1867-1912), the American pioneer who, with his brother, Orville Wright (1871-1948) organised public flights from Le Mans in 1908, and whose image was circulated in Le Petit Journal illustré de la jeunesse on 27 December 1908 and in the Petit Journal on 5 September 1909. The beach, or strip of ochre coloured earth, separates the fishermen’s space from the houses. It slopes down on the right of the painting, which means that the houses, depicted frontally, sit oddly in the space as their base follows the curve of the ground. Similarly, the fishermen, whose feet are cropped, seem to be placed on the water, or rather, stuck on to the strip of land.

Provenance: Ambroise Vollard, Paris; Paul Guillaume (1931); Domenica Walter

On the subject of the editor: Les Editions du Chêne, Paris 1941, it is an occupied Paris which witnesses the emergence, 16, place Vendôme, of the Editions du Chêne. A risky bet given that its 21-year old founder was called Maurice Kahane, an atheist Jewish man who would then adopt the name of his mother, Girodias. The Chêne specialized itself by the edition of art books and literature. The Editions du Chêne would become a branch of the Hachette group in 1951. The edition of art books would then adopt pride of place. George Herscher takes over the Hachette house with enthusiasm in 1971. See less