French Artist, Art Nouveau Figures, Ink Drawing on Paper, Late 19th-Early 20th Century, Framed

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Description

Art Nouveau illustrator, France, late 19th-early 20th century
Black ink drawing on paper.
Dimensions:
- sheet: height 35.2 cm, width … Read more Art Nouveau illustrator, France, late 19th-early 20th century
Black ink drawing on paper.
Dimensions:
- sheet: height 35.2 cm, width 28 cm
- frame: height 42.5 cm, width 32 cm, depth 3 cm.
Framed with contemporary glass.

A figure, apparently from another era, is sketched on the back of the sheet.

The sheet has a tear in the lower left corner (repaired with white tape on the back), the top and bottom corners of the left sheet are missing, and the top right corner is slightly damaged.

The drawing shows clear influences from the Japonism movement.
Japonism is the influence that Japanese art had on the West, particularly on French artists.
This passion for Japanese art began with the arrival of Japanese prints in Holland via the East India Company and then spread throughout Europe. These prints (especially ukiyo-e prints) depicted scenes of everyday life and were based on two-dimensional representation, with a focus on flat color and the absence of chiaroscuro, yet dynamic; the simple, sinuous curved line suggested movement. Other characteristics included the photographic angle and essential perspective.
Ukiyo-e, with their curved lines, patterns of colored surfaces and voids, asymmetrical compositions, and two-dimensionality, also inspired Art Nouveau, in which linearity and curved motifs became graphic clichés. See less