Title: Souvenir d'un Port Trouville, Calvados.
Artist: Maxime Lalanne (1827-1886)
Etching and drypoint, 1881
Signed in pencil. Titled in plate.
Image size 10 x 15 3/4"(25.4 x 40 cm).

This is one of the largest etched plates by French artist Maxime Lalanne, created in 1881, the title of this work is: Souvenir d'un Port Trouville, Calvados. Maxime Lalanne, the foremost contributor to the etching revival in France in the mid-to late1800s, frequently used his etchings as a vehicle to convey political statements. His images often depicted dramatically somber views of the industrial and slum areas of Paris during the Second Empire. A founding member of a society of etchers in 1862, Lalanne frequently published his work in the society's journal and in its prints series. Although his work as a draftsman is less known than his etching, he made many impressive and sensitive studies of both landscapes and cityscapes. He made prints after contemporary paintings for French art journals and published two instructional manuals, one on etching in 1866 and one on sketching in 1869. Lalanne made his appearance at the Salon in Paris in 1852 with two charcoal drawings, which he continued to submit throughout his career. Charcoal had only been recently recognized by the Salon as an independent category, and was very popular for both its novelty and expressiveness. Lalanne's reputation in the medium is evidenced by his well-received treatise on the subject, Le Fusain. The importance of drawing to Lalanne is without doubt - at his death the number of Lalanne's drawings in public and private hands exceeded 1200. Lalanne's print debut was in 1853-in lithography rather than etching. Lalanne began etching for Alfred Cadart in 1862 as one of the founding members of Cadart's 160-member Societe des Aquafortistes (formed in September 1862), and his work was among the first published and distributed by the Societe - Rue des Marmousets (published in November 1862 as plate 15). Lalanne made his etching debut at the Salon in 1863, submitting three street scenes (all of which would appear in Cadart publications). Lalanne's etchings struck a chord. He received awards from the Salon for etching in 1866, 1873 (3eme classe), 1874 (3eme classe) and was decorated as Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur in 1875. He was also knighted as Chevalier of the Order of Christ by King Fernando of Portugal (who, perhaps not surprisingly, was one of the 160 members of Cadart's Societe des Aquafortistes). Lalanne arrived on the scene at an opportune moment, for both him and for the Cadart publishing house. During the 20-year period in which they worked together (from 1862 to 1881), Lalanne produced over 145 etchings, and the Cadart house issued over 80 of them (often more than once) in numerous Cadart publications. While the impressionists were rebelling against artistic convention and the Salon, Lalanne remained ever faithful to it, and the Salon accepted and exhibited over 120 etchings by Lalanne from 1863 to 1886. It was because of this loyalty (and the resulting friendships) that Lalanne continued to be a member of the jury of the Salon, for painting, even (according to Marionneau) after illness prevented his full participation. Lalanne continued working until he died, with charcoal in his hand, on 29 July 1886, shortly after completing a drawing for his cousin, the author Leopold Lalanne.

Condtition: Good condition, save for toning and rippling.