Félix BUHOT: La Malgaigne
SOLD
Etching, drypoint and roulette, 141 x 106 mm. Bourcard & Goodfriend 79, 2d state (of 3).
Impression of the 2nd state (of 3) before the scraper work.
Superb impression, with burr and ink tone, printed on Arches laid paper. Notated in pencil: La Clotte. Planche détruite (The Clotte. Plate cancelled). Edition of only 10 or 12 copies.
Perfect condition. Full margins (sheet: 300 x 223 mm).
A copy of this print in the New York Public Library bears a long annotation by Buhot, explaining that this piece is part of a series of ten prints made in England at the time when he was giving etching classes to a Member of Parliament. Bourcard adds that the title La Malgaigne refers to the character of the superstitious, witchy old nurse in the novel Un Prêtre marié (A Married Priest) by Barbey d'Aurevilly. Our print bears the title La Clotte, referring to a similar character in another novel by Barbey d'Aurevilly, L'Ensorcelée.