12 Painting - Classic Works of Art by the Old Masters, Jacopo Pontormo (May 24, 1494 – January 2, 1557), With Footnotes

Pontormo (1494–1557)

Portrait of Maria Salviati de' Medici with Giulia de' Medici, circa 1537

Oil on panel

Height: 88 cm (34.6 in). Width: 71.3 cm (28.1 in). Depth: 1 cm (0.4 in).

Maria Salviati was the wife of famous military leader Giovanni delle Bande Nere de' Medici (d. 1526) and the mother of Cosimo I (1519-1574), grand duke of Tuscany. The little girl holding her hand here is probably Giulia, a Medici relative who was left in Maria's care after the murder of the child's father, Duke Alessandro de' Medici (1511-1537). 

As Alessandro was born of a liaison between a Medici cardinal and a servant who, tradition has it, was African, this formal portrait may be the first of a girl of African ancestry in European art. The child was painted over sometime during the 19th century but was rediscovered during a 1937 cleaning of the work.

Although Maria still wears the clothing of mourning for her deceased husband, Pontormo's elegant style conveys her aristocratic grace through her impossibly long fingers and her fashionably pale color (indicative of a life led out of the sun), which she shares with Giulia.

Jacopo da Pontormo, original name Jacopo Carrucci  (born May 24, 1494, Pontormo, near Empoli, Republic of Florence —buried Jan. 2, 1557, Florence), Florentine painter who broke away from High Renaissance classicism to create a more personal, expressive style that is sometimes classified as early Mannerism.

Pontormo was the son of Bartolommeo Carrucci, a painter. According to the biographer Giorgio Vasari, he was apprenticed to Leonardo da Vinci and afterward to Mariotto Albertinelli and Piero di Cosimo. At the age of 18 he entered the workshop of Andrea del Sarto, and it is this influence that is most apparent in his early works. An example of Pontormo's early style is a fresco depicting the Visitation of the Virgin and St Elizabeth, with its dancelike, balanced figures, painted from 1514 to 1516.

Pontormo (1494–1557)

Visitation of the Virgin and St Elizabeth, c. 1514-1516

Fresco

392 × 337 cm (154.3 × 132.7 in)

Santa Annunziata, Florence

The Visitation is the visit of Mary with Elizabeth as recorded in the Gospel of Luke, Luke 1:39–56. It is also the name of a Christian feast day commemorating this visit, celebrated on 31 May in the West (2 July in calendars of the 1263–1969 period, and in the modern regional calendar of Germany as well as the Anglican Communion) and 30 March among Eastern Christians. More

This early Visitation makes an interesting comparison with his painting of the same subject (below), which was done about a decade later for the parish church of St. Michael in Carmignano, about 20 km west of Florence. Placing these two pictures together—one from his early style, and another from his mature period—throws Pontormo's artistic development into sharp relief. In the earlier work, 

Pontormo (1494–1557)

Visitation, c.1529

Oil on Wood

20.2 x 15.6 cm

Church of San Francesco e Michele, Carmignano, Italy

In 1518 he completed an altarpiece in the Church of San Michele Visdomini, Florence, that reflects in its agitated—almost neurotic—emotionalism a departure from the balance and tranquillity of the High Renaissance. His painting of Joseph in Egypt (c. 1515), one of a series for Pier Francesco Borgherini, suggests that the revolutionary new style appeared even earlier.

Pontormo (1494–1557)

Joseph in Egypt, c. 1517-1518

Oil on canvas

44 × 49 cm (17.3 × 19.3 in)

National Gallery in London

The Joseph canvases offer another example of Pontormo's developing style. Done around the same time as the earlier Visitation, these works (such as Joseph in Egypt, above) show a much more mannerist leaning. According to Giorgio Vasari, the sitter for the boy seated on a step is his young apprentice, Bronzino.

Pontormo (1494–1557)

Martyrdom of St Maurice and the Theban Legion, c. 1528-30

Oil on wood

65 x 73 cm

Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence

This picture represents a mass slaughter, including a series of crucifixions in the background. The battle scene on the left side of the panel recalls Leonardo's cartoon for the Battle of Anghiari, known today only through copies. Elsewhere there are reflections of Michelangelo's work, including the cartoon for the Battle of Cascina. Nevertheless, Pontormo always retains his own voice. More

Pontormo was primarily a religious painter, but he painted a number of sensitive portraits and in 1521 was employed by the Medici family to decorate their villa at Poggio a Caiano with mythological subjects. 

Pontormo (1494–1557)

Christ before Pilate, c. 1523-25

Fresco

300 x 290 cm

Certosa, Galuzzo

In the Passion cycle (1522–25) (above) for the Certosa near Florence, he borrowed ideas from the German artist Albrecht Dürer, whose engravings and woodcuts were circulating in Italy. His mature style is best exemplified in the Deposition (below) painted soon after this for Santa Felicità, Florence.

Jacopo Pontormo

Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John, c.  1527

Oil on Wood

Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy

The composition is a great plastic concentration, echoing Michelangelo's Tondo Doni. The elongated forms derive from a typology of a heroic nature, possibly drawn from Michelangelo's Medici tombs in San Lorenzo, but Leonardo's influence is also still present, in the affectionate attitude of the Madonna bending towards the Child.


The figures are solid and well-defined, and the chiaroscuro, rendered with feeling, moulds the golden flesh surfaces with a yellowish light. More

Pontormo (1494–1557)

The Deposition, from 1526 until 1528

Oil on canvas

313 × 192 cm (123.2 × 75.6 in)

Chiesa Santa Felicità, Florence

This painting suggests a whirling dance of the grief-stricken. They inhabit a flattened space, comprising a sculptural congregation of brightly demarcated colors. The vortex of the composition droops down towards the limp body of Jesus off center in the left. Those lowering Christ appear to demand our help in sustaining both the weight of his body (and the burden of sin Christ took on) and their grief. No Cross is visible; the natural world itself also appears to have nearly vanished: a lonely cloud and a shadowed patch of ground with a crumpled sheet provide sky and stratum for the mourners. If the sky and earth have lost color, the mourners have not; bright swathes of pink and blue envelop the pallid, limp Christ. More

Pontormo (1494–1557)

Madonna and Child with Saints, c. 1518

Oil on wood

214 x 185 cm

San Michele Visdomini, Florence

Pontormo executed this painting for the chapel of Francesco di Giovanni Pucci in the church San Michele Visdomini in Florence. The painting, usually mentioned as the Pucci Altarpiece, portrays the Virgin with St John the Evangelist, Joseph, holding the baby Jesus, the young St John, St Francis and St James, the latter being the artist's self-portrait.

The figures are arranged in two areas, divided by a vertical axis, which forms the height of a triangle, at whose apex is the Virgin's head. 


The compositions of both the right part and the left part, although symmetrical and populated by an identical number of figures, are organized very differently. The complex twisting of the bodies and the many different directions of the gestures suggest the use of a grid of extremely complicated and dynamic geometrical schemes. The lines of vision go in all possible directions; in no instance do they cross or match, this emphasizing the psychological isolation of the figures. The facial features and expressions of the older Joseph and St John the Evangelist, as well as the laughing putti, are exaggeratedly pronounced. In short, everything combines to create an atmosphere of restless instability. More

Pontormo (1494–1557)

Madonna and Child with St. Joseph and Saint John the Baptist, c. 1521-27

Oil on canvas transferred from wood

120 x 99 cm

The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

In this superb example of Pontormo's style, the theme of a premonition of the predestined Passion grows smoothly from the centre to the edges and from the surface into the depth. From the infant amusing himself wit a young goldfinch, our gaze shifts to the Virgin's sad face, then to the resigned faces of Joseph and John the baptist, before finally plunging into the agitated gloom of the firmament, in front of the ominous cross looms More

Pontormo became more and more of a recluse in later life. A diary survives from 1554 to 1557, but the important frescoes in San Lorenzo on which he worked during the last decade of his life are now known only from drawings; in these the influence of Michelangelo is apparent. Numerous drawings survive, and paintings are to be found in various galleries in Europe and America, as well as in Florence.

Pontormo (1494–1557)

The Annunciation detail Virgin Annunciate, c. from 1527 until 1528

Fresco

Capponi Chapel, church of Santa Felicita in Florence

The Annunciation is a wall painting by the Italian mannerist artist Jacopo Pontormo, executed in 1527–1528 as part of his commission to decorate the Capponi Chapel in the church of Santa Felicita, Florence.

It is frescoed around the window on the wall adjacent to Pontormo's masterpiece, the famous Deposition from the Cross. Pontormo depicts the Annunciation, the revelation to Mary by the Archangel Gabriel that she would conceive a child to be born the Son of God, in a lively composition, with both figures in an elastic contrapposto. More

Pontormo (1494–1557)

Venus and Cupid, c. 1532-34

Oil on wood

128 x 197 cm

Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Venus turns her massive body into the picture plane, confronting the viewer with it and with the incestuous kiss she gives her young son - a juxtaposition recalling more conventional allegories of Charity. Her coolly classical face resembles the second of the two masks, symbols of the misleading nature of dreams. More

Acknowledgement: Wikipedia, Britannica, 

Israeli Forces Allegedly Shoot Artist - artnet News

Toronto-based Palestinian artist Rehab Nazzal was allegedly shot by a sniper in Israel while taking photographs on December 11, according to statements released on Facebook and in a press release on a Palestinian prisoner solidarity website. She was in Bethlehem, reportedly snapping images of members of the Israeli Defense Forces spraying a Palestinian neighborhood with "skunk," a smelly, nonlethal liquid used for crowd control.

Israeli Forces Allegedly Shoot Artist - artnet News

13 Paintings by Tobiasse, Theo b.1927

Born in Palestine, of Lithuanian parents,  in 1927, but raised in German occupied Paris, Tobiasse spent two crucial years of his youth hiding in total isolation from the Nazis.  After World War II he worked as a commercial artist until 1961, when he turned to painting full time. 

JE VIENS DU PAYS DU MIEL ET DU LAIT

By Theo Tobiasse

 23.62 X 31.5 in (60 X 80 cm)

oil on canvas

Creation Date: 1972

Signed

He attributes his works to his real life experiences. He believes that because of these experiences, he has reached a place of perfect contentment and harmony. This is apparent in his works through the use of colors and textures.

TOUTE LA VILLE ÉCOUTE

By Theo Tobiasse

 21.65 X 25.59 in (55 X 65 cm)

oil on canvas

Creation Date: 1975

Signed

In 1950 Theo moved to Nice where he continued to paint. He had his first 

exhibition at the Palais de le Mediterranee in 1961 where he also won the grand prize. This helped him to make the decision to quit his other career and devote his time entirely to art.

QUAND TU DANSES JE NE SUIS PLUS SEUL

By Theo Tobiasse

 19.69 X 26.38 in (50 X 67 cm)

mixed media on paper mounted on canvas

Creation Date: 1973

Signed

In 1960, his work was noticed at an exhibition of young artists at the Palais de la Mediterranee in Nice and he won first prize. From then on art galleries and collectors continued to show interest in his work and by 1962 Theo Tobiasse was finally able to devote himself entirely to painting. In 1970, he moved into his studio on Quai Rauba-Capeu, overlooking the Port of Nice.

L'HOMME ASSIS RETOURNE VERS SON PASSE

By Theo Tobiasse

31.89 X 39.76 in (81 X 101 cm)

oil on canvas

Creation Date: 1970

Signed

 In 1976 he moved again to St. Paul-de-Vence where he rediscovered both the sky of Jerusalem and that of Florence. It was in Nice, the city he had adopted on leaving Paris, that his pictorial expression came into its own. Initially profane and close to certain bestiaries, his subjects rapidly evolved towards reminiscences about his childhood: buses that he had caught sight of on his journey to France, boats with wheels on the Nieman in Lithuania, tea kettles, the warmth of the fireside, the trains when he arrived in Paris at dawn, the smokiness of railway stations, etc. 

JE SENS LA DOUCEUR DE VIVRE

By Theo Tobiasse

23.62 X 28.74 in (60 X 73 cm)

oil on canvas

Signed

Since 1980, Theo Tobiasse has travelled a great deal in the United States. On a detour, via Mexico, he discovered the impressive Aztec sites of the Yucatan, whose sculptures and engraved stones left their mark on him for a certain period. Fascinated by New York, he decided to find a place where he could work for several months every year. 

VENISE COULEUR DE MIEL VI

By Theo Tobiasse

10.63 X 13.78 in (27 X 35 cm)

oil on canvas

Signed

MAZAL TOV

By Theo Tobiasse

10.63 X 13.78 in (27 X 35 cm)

oil on canvas

Creation Date: 1969

Signed

Le lait de tes brebis le raisin de tes vignes

By Theo Tobiasse

27.5 X 21.5 in (69.85 X 54.61 cm)

Medium:  Poster

 Circa 1970

LA FOULE AUX YEUX COMIQUES ET TRISTES

By Theo Tobiasse

35.5 X 35.5 in (90.17 X 90.17 cm)

Oil on canvas

Signed

VENCE ET LE CHAT ASSIS

By Theo Tobiasse

76 X 51.19 in (193.04 X 130.02 cm)

Oil on canvas

Creation Date: 1969

SUR LA ROUTE DE BABYLON

By Theo Tobiasse

26.38 X 20.08 in (67 X 51 cm)

Gouache

Creation Date: 1975

Signed

LE CHEVAL QUI FAISAIT RIRE L'ENFANT

By Theo Tobiasse

22.44 X 29.92 in (57 X 76 cm)

Lithograph printed in colors

Signed

Edition Number: 65/200

LE DUOMO DE FIRENZE

By Theo Tobiasse

6.3 X 8.66 in (16 X 22 cm)

oil on canvas

Creation Date: 1969

Signed

Acknowledgement: Mutual Art, ROGALLERY.COM, 

31 Prints by William Lee-Hankey (1869 - 1952) With Footnotes

William Lee-Hankey   1869 - 1952

William Lee Hankey (1869–1952) RWS,RI,ROI,RE,NS was a British painter and book illustrator. He specialised in landscapes, character studies and portraits of pastoral life, particularly in studies of mothers with young children.

The Refugees

Etching based on William Lee Hankey's observations just behind the front line at Étaples in 1914

He was born in Chester and worked as a designer after leaving school. He studied art in the evenings at the Chester School of Art. Later in Paris he became influenced by the work of Jules Bastien-Lepage, who also favoured rustic scenes depicted in a realistic but sentimental style. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1896 and was President of the London Sketch Club from 1902 to 1904. He stayed in France in the early 1900s, painting many of his works in Brittany and Normandy, where he depicted a peasant lifestyle which was already disappearing in England. From 1904 until well after World War I he maintained a studio at the Etaples art colony.

A Corner of the Fishmarket. 1919

Drypoint. Hardie 

165. 8 x 6 (sheet 11 7/8 x 9 7/16). 

Edition 100. 

Artist's embossed initial monogram.

Printed by the artist

Signed in pencil.

Writing in The Studio,  A. L. Baldry commented that “He is in his water-colours an absolute purist; he paints entirely with transparent pigments, and never has recourse to opaque colours; his brushwork is broad and confident – free, on the one hand, from affectation of showy cleverness, and, on the other, from niggling minuteness or over-elaboration; and he does not insist, as is the fashion with many present-day painters, upon lowness of tone.” His French paintings include land- and seascapes such as "The Harbour at Étaples" and the distant view of the town in Auckland Art Gallery and figure studies like "Mother and Child" and The Goose Girl (below)

The Goose Girl

Signed in pencil and with a blind stamp

210x160mm

Maternite

Drypoint etching printed 1917

Monogrammed in the matrix

blind stamp & graphite 

signature in lower margin

Published state, produced in an edition of 50 

10 x 8 IN, 25.5 x 20.5 CM

Counting the Fish. 1927

Etching. Subsequent to Hardie

7 5/8 x 9 3/16 (sheet 10 3/8 x 12 1/8)

Edition 100

Printed by the artist

Signed in pencil

But it was Hankey's black and white and coloured etchings of the people of Étaples, several developed from these paintings, which gained him a reputation as 'one of the most gifted of the figurative printmakers working in original drypoint during the first thirty years of the 20th century'. One that is particularly striking for its stylistic presentation was "The Refugees" (above), his contribution to raising awareness of the consequences for ordinary people of the German invasion of France and Belgium in 1914. He went on to serve with the Artists' Rifles from 1915 to 1918.


In Britain he had been associated with the Newlyn School, a group of English artists based in the titular village in Cornwall who were themselves influenced by the romantic poets such as Wordsworth and Keats.

The Knitting Lesson   1913-14

  Original drypoint.

Signed in pencil, and with the artist’s blindstamp.

Ref: Hardie 121 ii/ii

S 298 x 285 mm; P & I 203 x 201 mm.

This style of touching depiction of a French peasant woman with her children was to become a recurring theme throughout William Lee-Hankey’s work - a theme in which he remained unsurpassed throughout the British Etching Revival.

This drypoint was adapted from William Lee-Hankey’s own oil painting of the subject which had been purchased by the French government for the Luxembourg, from the Salon of 1914. William Lee-Hankey had already issued an edition of 15 proofs in the first state of this plate when the subject was still relatively sketchy. In this second state (the edition of which was also limited to only 15 impressions) Lee-Hankey has completed the composition with much additional drypoint work. In this finished state the modelling of the sitters is completed, their clothes are properly shaded and both the background and the mother’s shawl have become darkened.

On cream laid paper, with full margins. Mild mat lines in outer margins. Reverse of sheet browned due to previous backboard. Image surface excellent.

The Spinning Wheel

Date: 1912

Drypoint

14.8 x 10.1 cm (plate)

Women of Étaples c.1928 

Original drypoint.

Signed in pencil, and with the artist’s blindstamp.

Ref: Post Hardie

S 376 x 230 mm; P & I 204 x 170 mm

Excellent impression with totally fresh drypoint burr and exceptional contrast. A particularly strong impression from the only edition of 100 signed proofs printed by the artist himself.

William Lee-Hankey was one of the most gifted of the figurative printmakers working in original drypoint during the first thirty years of the 20th century. His intense portrait studies of the local folk of Britanny display an emotive understanding which was acquired over many years amongst the people which they portray. Women of Étaples is the style of portrait which finds Lee-Hankey at his best – here, he has captured the differing emotions of two different generations of the same family, whilst expressing the bond of care which exists between them.

On coarse simile Japan paper with full margins. Traces of previous hinging at edge of sheet verso. Some discolouration in margins, otherwise very good original condition. Image surface excellent.

BETROTHAL

ca. 1900–1920

7.75 X 9.25 in (19.68 X 23.5 cm)

Etching, Drypoint

Signed

Mussel Gatherers

ca. 1900–1920

Drypoint

45.1 x 55.1 cm (plate)

Girl seated in a doorway c.1910-13

Original drypoint and aquatint, printed in colours.

Signed and inscribed in pencil, and with the artist’s blindstamp.

S 320 x 261 mm; P & I 205 x 153 mm

One of only 24 proofs projected by the artist – it is thought unlikely that this edition was ever printed in full. Excellent impression, printed by the artist himself in tones of green, pink and black inks. Signed and inscribed in pencil by William Lee-Hankey “24 Impressions. No.2”.

William Lee-Hankey’s rare colour prints were his ultimate experiments in printmaking technique. Often, he would build up a colour print by overprinting multiple colour plates, in the manner of a colour woodcut. For this print, Lee-Hankey has used a drypoint plate printed in warm brownish-black ink which he has then overprinted with a tonal aquatint plate inked in colours applied à la poupée, by hand. Clearly an experimental proof printing, the colours do not achieve perfect registration and have a tendency to overflow into one another.

The young peasant women of Normandy were a constant subject for William Lee-Hankey’s printed works. He visited the village of a Etaples regularly, recording its local people in his watercolours and original prints, time and time again. This image of a young French girl sitting nonchalantly in a doorway is typical of his works in this vein.

On cream laid paper with full margins and deckle edge. Five small worm holes in lower margin and other marginal defects at extreme upper edge of sheet, though generally very good condition. Image surface, excellent.

A Cottage Toilette. 1913. 

Drypoint. Hardie 

112. 7 13/16 x 6 1/2 (sheet 11 5/16 x 9 1/16)

Printed by the artist

Signed in pencil.

The Alhambra, Granada 1906

Original etching and aquatint, printed in colours.

Inscribed in pencil and signed in the plate with the artist’s monogram.

Hardie 36 – colour print XXII.

S 336 x 407 mm; P & I 252 x 292 mm

One of only 6 or 8 proofs printed in colours, inscribed by the artist in pencil “No.3 The Alhambra”. 15 proofs were printed in black ink alone.

Very good impression, printed in tones of blue, green, brown and black inks.

William Lee-Hankey was an innovative experimenter in colour printmaking techniques. He also experimented with various methods of aquatint and textile grounds, often blended, or used in conjunction with a bitten line, always in search of a fuller tonality. In this plate depicting the ancient Moorish palace of the Alhambra, in Spain, W.Lee-Hankey has combined the techniques of etching and aquatint printed with hand applied colours to produce a haunting moolit scene.

On pale cream wove paper, with full margins

THE WIDOW (HARDIE 122)

Date: 1913 - 1914

9 X 4.75 in (22.86 X 12.06 cm)

Etching

Signed

PORTRAIT OF A LADY

10.75 X 8.75 in (27.3 X 22.22 cm)

Etching

Signed

The Secret 1920

Original drypoint.

Signed in pencil, and with the artist’s blindstamp.

Ref: Hardie 171

S 256 x 195 mm; P & I 150 x 101 mm

Superb impression with rich drypoint burr and strong contrast, from the only edition of 100 signed proofs, printed by the artist himself.

The Secret typifies the touching and expressive style of portrait which finds William Lee-Hankey at his most inspired. The little girl looks out of the picture as though she senses the viewer attempting to intrude upon a secret which she does not intend to share. This form of intimate subject became a recurring theme throughout William Lee-Hankey’s work – a theme in which he remained unsurpassed throughout the British Etching Revival.

On cream wove paper with wide margins

Field Workers, 1918

Size: 6 7/16 x 8 3/8''

Drypoint

Edition of 75 

Signed

Marie of the Fields   1919

Original drypoint.

Signed in pencil, and with the artist’s blindstamp.

Ref: Hardie 168

S 277 x  196 mm; P & I 201 x 125 mm

  

Outstanding impression with rich drypoint burr, from the only edition of 100 signed proofs, printed by the artist himself.

William Lee-Hankey’s studies of adolescence are the finest of his printed works – here he has depicted the young Marie in pensive mood set against the fields and village of Étaples.

This charming portrait of a young French girl holds the record for any William Lee-Hankey print at auction (£2,049 including premium at Bonhams, London on 4th Dec.2002, lot 312, erroneously catalogued as Goose Girl) and along with Denise has always been one of William Lee-Hankey’s most sought-after original prints.

On warm white wove paper with wide margins.

La Fille du Ferme 1917

Technique: drypoint 

Size: 9 3/4 x 6 7/8"

Pencil Signed with the artist's blindstamp 

Edition of 50 

Youth No. 2, 1919

Size: 7 x 4 15/16''

Drypoint

Signed 

Fading Light   1923

Original drypoint.

Signed in pencil, and with the artist’s blindstamp.

Ref: Hardie 102 iii/iii

S 240 x 308 mm; P & I 175 x 251 mm£320

  

Very good signed proof impression with rich blacks and full tonal range. From the only edition of 35 signed proofs printed by William Lee-Hankey himself.

Hardie considered this to be one of the artist’s finest plates “but if the frail, wistful face and feeble frame that are so nobly rendered in that dim interior, be too melancholy, the eye can turn to the cheery patch-work of the quilt and rejoice in that little bit of drawing and technique which has almost turned black-and-white into a gay riot of colour”. In Fading Light, the artist’s technique of working directly onto his plate with his subject before him, has allowed him to express an unusual sympathy between his medium and his theme.

On cream wove paper, with full margins and deckle edge.

The Cloak

ca. 1900–1925

Drypoint

27.6 x 22.3 cm (plate)

In the Doorway   1909

Original etching with drypoint.

Signed and numbered in pencil. Further signed with the artist’s blindstamp.

Ref: Hardie 56 i/ii

S 322 x 275 mm; P & I 202 x 201 mm

  

One of only 6 impressions printed in the first state of the plate, prior to the addition of aquatint. 

Very rare early working proof impression, prior to the normal edition. Signed and inscribed by the artist in pencil “No.2”, indicating the second proof to be taken from the freshly worked plate. Etched on zinc, In the Doorway was converted into an aquatint for the published edition of only 25 proofs. Working proofs of William Lee-Hankey’s plates, such as this, are universally rare.

On cream laid paper with full margins

The Market Place

ca. 1900–1930

Drypoint

30.4 x 35.3 cm (plate)

The Open Window   1923

Original drypoint.

Signed in pencil, and with the artist’s blindstamp.

Ref: Post Hardie.

S 322 x 275 mm; P & I 202 x 201 mm

  

Excellent impression with strong, fresh drypoint burr, from the only edition of 100 signed proofs printed by the artist himself. It seems likely that some accident may have befallen a large number of the impressions from this edition as this particular work by William Lee-Hankey is rarely seen today.

The Open Window is the style of moving portrait which finds William Lee-Hankey at his most inspired. The subject of ‘mother and child’ became a recurring theme throughout William Lee-Hankey’s work – a theme in which he remained unsurpassed throughout the British Etching Revival. In this acutely observed study, the artist has captured perfectly a quiet moment of contemplation as his sitter gazes through the open window - from which this image takes it title.

On coarse hand-made paper with full margins and deckle edge.

The Lesson

ca. 1890–1920

Drypoint

16.4 x 21 cm (plate)

Père Dachicourt   1920

Original drypoint.

Signed in pencil, and with the artist’s blindstamp.

Ref: Hardie 185

S 226 x 183 mm; P & I 128 x 100 mm

  

Very good impression from the only edition of 100 signed proofs, printed by William Lee-Hankey himself.

Although often thought to be a portrait of the priest of Étaples (the village seen in the background), the character depicted in this drypoint is in fact a local fisherman.

On heavy cream wove paper with full margins. 

Le Matin   1925/26

Original drypoint.

Signed in pencil, and with the artist’s blindstamp.

Ref: Post Hardie

S 322 x 366 mm; P 248 x 294 mm;  I 243 x 291 mm

  

Excellent impression with strong drypoint burr, from the only edition of 100 signed proofs, printed by the artist himself.

Le Matin displays perfectly the rapid flowing style of William Lee-Hankey’s later drypoint work. Here, the artist has demonstrated his outstanding ability in the drypoint medium to the full. Executed with remarkable speed and precision, there is an unposed spontaneity to this interior study which is further emphasised by the sparse surroundings of the room. There is a leisurely flourish to the manner in which Lee-Hankey has drawn the ruffled bedclothes shortly after his model has awoken.

On heavy cream wove paper with full margins

Early Morning 1911

25x15.5cm

Etching

From the edition of 25 

Signed 

Lizette and Pierre, 1918, 

Signed "W. Lee-Hankey imp..." in pencil

Artist's dry stamp, and with artist's monogram within the plate. 

Etching with drypoint on paper

10 7/8 x 9 1/16 in.

A Distraction, 1920

Signed "W. Lee-Hankey imp..." in pencil l.c.,

artist's dry stamp, and with artist's monogram within the plate. 

Etching with drypoint on paper

10 7/8 x 9 1/16 in.

The Kiss. 

Drypoint etching printed 1917-1918. 

Blind stamp & graphite 

signature in lower margin. 

Printed in an edition of 75 proofs 

10 x 8 IN, 25.5 x 20.5 CM 

SIESTA

9.75 X 13.88 in (24.76 X 35.26 cm)

Drypoint

Acknowledgement: Campbell Fine Art, Wikipedia