After Gustave Boulanger, The Gynaeceum, Classical Roman Courtyard, 1880, Photogravure

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An elegant scene of women's life in a classical household. A colonnaded courtyard with fluted columns and a gallery with … Read more An elegant scene of women's life in a classical household. A colonnaded courtyard with fluted columns and a gallery with lattice railings above opens around a garden of flowers and a tall cypress. Beneath an awning slung from the tree, a lady reclines on a draped couch attended by companions; a woman at left pours water from a jug onto the flowers, a girl with wreathed hair stands beside her, and children lean over the curved rim of a pool, one sailing a toy boat on a string. At right, doves flutter at a fountain basin, a slender hound waits by a doorway, and a dark-skinned attendant in a draped robe stands under the portico. A bronze winged figure on a pedestal stands at far left. The plate reproduces "le gynécée" (the women's quarters) by gustave boulanger (1824 to 1888), the french academic painter known for his reconstructions of daily life in greek and roman antiquity; the painting dates from 1875. The margin is lettered "peint par g. Boulanger", his signature is in the lower left of the image, and the line "photogravure & imp. Goupil & cie" at lower right names the paris house that made and printed the plate. As a photogravure, the print holds the precise architectural detail of the painting, the capitals, painted walls and railings, together with soft tonal passages in the foliage and water. The tone is a warm gray-black on cream paper. A rich, detailed composition that rewards close viewing, well suited to a dining room or hallway where it can be seen at eye level, framed in gilt or black. Condition: small loss or rounding to the bottom right corner. Minor nicks along the bottom edge. Even age toning. Foxing and several larger brown spots across much of the margin. A few small light flecks in the printed area. This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed. See less