1974 Berthe Morisot Collotype "The Lesson"

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Original collotype print after the earlier Berthe Morisot drypoint etching, from the limited edition portfolio "Twenty Four Masterpieces of Graphic … Read more Original collotype print after the earlier Berthe Morisot drypoint etching, from the limited edition portfolio "Twenty Four Masterpieces of Graphic Art". Printed and published by Triton Press, Inc., New York in 1974. Sheet size: 17 x 14 inches; print size: 8 x 5-1/2 inches, on Brandywine Cover paper. Shown on a black background. Mint condition new old stock from our immaculate copy of "Twenty Four Masterpieces of Graphic Art".

Collotype is a printing process invented in the mid-19th century famous for producing extremely fine detail and rich tonal gradation, using photograph negatives to create printing plates. Widely used for art books, postcards, and fine art reproductions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, today collotype is commercially uncommon, but still practiced by a few master printers. Collotype prints are admired by photographers, printmakers, and collectors for its unmatched subtlety.

Berthe Morisot produced few prints, but she demonstrated in the limited series which she issued a consummate draughtsperson's skill: a sureness of hand and delicacy of touch which won her the admiration of masters like Degas and Renoir. For the original drypoint etching, she used as a model an earlier free sketch of her daughter Julie and herself. The result is as incisive as a pen and ink drawing in the manner and tradition of an old master. See less