"The Plain of Thebes", a genuine photogravure after the painting by Jean-Leon Gerome, engraved and etched by Goupil, 1881; printed on heavy stock paper; signed in plate "J.L. Gerome, Pinx." and "Gravure Goupil et Cie."

Heavy stock paper, design 9.3/4" x 6.1/2" [250mm x 167mm], the entire plate 12" x 9" [304mm x 228mm]; a little foxing and a little soiling, good+ condition. An additional sheet with the explanatory text by Goupil is present.

Thebes, known to the ancient Egyptians as Waset, was an ancient Egyptian city located along the Nile about 800 kilometers (500 mi) south of the Mediterranean. Its ruins lie within the modern Egyptian city of Luxor. Thebes was the capital of Egypt for long periods during the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom eras. The painting by Gerome shows the ephemerality and fugaciousness: only two almost unidentifiable ruined statues of King Memmon are standing in the middle of the deserted landscape, that's all what is left of the formerly great city.

Jean-Leon Gerome (1824-1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880." The range of his oeuvre included historical painting, Greek mythology, Orientalism, portraits, and other subjects, bringing the academic painting tradition to an artistic climax. He is considered one of the most important painters from this academic period. He was also a teacher with a long list of students.

In 1870s-1890s, Goupil & Cie were the leading art dealers in 19th century France, with headquarters in Paris and a network of branches in London, Brussels, The Hague, Berlin and Vienna, as well as in New York and Australia. Instrumental for this expansion was the "Ateliers Photographiques", a plant north of Paris, in Asnieres, which took up its work in 1869. The photogravures created in this plant dominated the world art market of 1880s-1890s.

The creation of the photogravure plate was a complicated process requiring a work by a photographer and experienced master-engraver. First, a copper plate was coated with a light-sensitive gelatin tissue which had been exposed to a film positive, and then etched, resulting in a high quality intaglio print that can reproduce the detail and continuous tones of a photograph. It is a manual process. Therefore, the quality of the photogravure depends on the masterly execution by the engraver.

Due to relative softness of copper, the editions of photogravures were limited to a few thousand copies similarly to copper engravings and etchings.

Artwork will be mailed unframed.

US: Priority (c.2-4 days) --------- $20.50
Canada: 1st Class (c.2-8 weeks) --- $22.50
World: 1st Class (c 2-8 weeks) ---- $32.50