Black & White Prints From the Chacographie Archives of the Louvre Museum - A Pair

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This pair of unframed prints are chalcographic engravings issued by the Lovure Museum. They were purchased from the Louvre Museum … Read more This pair of unframed prints are chalcographic engravings issued by the Lovure Museum. They were purchased from the Louvre Museum Shop about 30-40 years ago, and they each contain the embossed stamp of the museum (see photo). They are engraved from copperplates on paper with deckled edges. The Louvre is famous for its collection of copperplates -- here is a quote from the official website:

"Founded in 1797 under the Directory, the Louvre Chalcographie holds over 14,000 engraved copperplates, used to make prints, and has the mission of disseminating the image of the museum’s masterpieces through the art of engraving."

My research has not uncovered the artist or the date of the original engraving. However, the subject matter clearly puts these prints in the Surrealist School of art. Here is Wikipedia's description of this movement:

"Surrealism is a cultural movement that started in 1917, and is best known for its visual artworks and writings. Artists painted unnerving, illogical scenes, sometimes with photographic precision, creating strange creatures from everyday objects, and developing painting techniques that allowed the unconscious to express itself."
"Surrealism developed out of the Dada activities during World War I. The most important center of the movement was Paris, France."

The edge to edge dimensions are listed below. But the print itself, including border and embossed stamp, is 19.5" high x 12" wide See less