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'The Desperate Man' By Albrect Durer c.1515. c.1876 photogravure on laid paper by Charles Amand-Durand with red Helio-A.D stamp to rear. Measures 201 x 142mm. Light brown patches to image centre & tissue hinge remnant to rear, else fine. No plate-mark. The plate-mark was originally well outside the margin of the etched work, so the plate itself is cut close to the work so as to be a more accurate facsimile of the original. Charles Amand-Durand, born in Cheny (Yonne), was an established and reputable French painter & engraver who lived from 1831-1905. He was a passionate and talented artist who deeply admired the 15th, 16th, and 17th century Old Masters? engravings. However, whilst studying the engravings Durand could see that many of them were in a poor condition, either because of the ravages of time, or because they had also started out as inferior impressions, taken from worn-out copper plates, that may have also been reworked or adulterated by other hands. The original copper plates used by Rembrandt, Durer, Beham, and others, were now too worn to be printed from and there were too few fine prints in existence that reflected the artists' true intentions. Durand's task of recreating the early etching plates created by these old masters started when the main curator of the Louvre gave him the important mission of restoring the worn down and fragile engravings made by Rembrandt. The etchings Durand created were based on research and studies he did at the Louvre and other museums and also private collections. And in order to form exact reproductions, he used as his guide, not the worn original copper or wood plates, but the 1st & 2nd state prints of the original works. He then duplicated the images onto new copper plates, which he often reworked to achieve an incredible clarity and accuracy of 1/1000mm through his own technical abilities. His main series of facsimiles began in 1869 with a major periodical publication, Etchings and Engravings of the Old Masters, which contained 401 pieces reproduced under the direction of G. Duplessis, curator of the Department of Prints at the National Library. This was followed by the publications of engraved works by van Dijck (21 plates, 1875), Dürer (108 pl., 1876), Potter (21 pl., 1877), Claude Gellée (42 pl., 1848), Mantegna ( 27 pl., 1879), Ruisdael (12 pl., 1880), Schongauer (117 pl., 1881), Lucas de Leyde (174 pl., 1882), A. van Ostade (51 pl., no text), and finally by Rembrandt (350 pl., no text, 1883). His works can be identified by the red Helio-A.D stamp on the verso (included in the Lugt Stamp Catalogue #2934). Like others before him, Charles Armand-Durand attempted to democratise the art industry by reproducing the works of famed artists which were hidden from the general public in the repositories of the French National Library, or in the ownership of private collectors and preserve the original quality for future generations. Durands re-engravings became so well respected that major collectors & institutions throughout Europe sought to acquire them during the 19th century and beyond. In fact, in 1895 Theo Van Gogh, brother and manager of Vincent Van Gogh stumbled across Durands work. He was so impressed that he sought the artist out and afterwards contacted Vincent to express his enthusiasm for his artistic talents and intellect. Van Gogh was one of the many that recognized Amand Durands talents. I have a few other Albrecht Durer/Durand etchings in auction at the moment. In order to create his héliogravures (photogravures), a high quality photograph would have been taken of the original work. The negative would then be exposed onto a gelatin covered copper plate, and etched with acid. At this point, Amand-Durand would then re-etch parts of the plate himself, and then print the works by hand. The quality of paper used by Durand was of extremely high quality and therefore would preserve the plates from acidity. Seller Inventory # 000720
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