"Waiting" after the painting by Ulysse- Louis-Auguste Butin, antique photogravure; engraved by Goupil, 1881; printed on heavy stock paper; signed in plate " Ulysse Louis Auguste Butin, Pinx." and "Gravure Goupil et Cie." "The Masterpieces of French Art" The description sheet for this print is included. The fishers' wives waiting for the ship that didn't return as expected. "The children are infected with mother's sadness and anxiety." The painting was exhibited in the Paris Salon in 1875.

Printed on high quality heavy paper, design 10.1/8" x 6.1/8" [25.8cm x 15.6cm], the entire plate is 11.1/2" x 15" [29cm x 38cm]; a little aging, a little corner wear, some foxing, very good condition [see photo].

Ulysse-Louis-Auguste Butin (1838-1883) was French artist. He participated in the decoration of the Paris Opera under the direction of Charles Garnier, and realized the allegory of the April Month of the Glacier Gallery. A naturalist artist, he painted popular seaside scenes whose ethnological significance is as important as the artistic value. At least three of his paintings are kept in public collections in Lille, Pau and Paris. Two others are at the Fine Arts Museum in San Francisco. He won two medals at the Salon of 1875 and then in 1878, and received the insignia of Chevalier of the Legion of Honor on July 13, 1881.

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.

Photogravures were engraved on copper plates and leave a plate impression in the paper. 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 4-10 days) ----------- $22.50
Canada: 1st Class (c 2-6 weeks) -- $32.50
World: 1st Class (c 2-8 weeks) --- $42.50