Wood Gatherers after Pierre Billet, Antique Photogravure, circa 1880
€ 320
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1880
Mapmaker / artist
Pierre Billet (painter), Goupil & Cie (photogravure)
Publisher
Goupil & Cie, Paris
Technique
Photogravure
Coloring
Uncolored
Sheet size
25 × 35 cm (9.8 × 13.8 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-13194-33
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Light wear to the top left and bottom left corners. Light age toning; light handling soiling along the edges and a few small spots in the margins. Small light flecks in the image, otherwise clean.
About this sheet
Country women rest in a sunlit wood of tall, slender trees. At left a barefoot girl leans against a broad trunk, one hand to her head, the other holding a coil of rope, while a stoneware jug and a patterned pitcher stand in the grass at her feet. To the right three women sit and lie on the ground in headscarves and aprons, one nursing a baby, one stretched full length in the foreground. In the clearing beyond, another figure walks away under a great bundle of sticks, and a path runs back through the trees into the light. The scene is calm and unforced, a pause in the day's labor.
The plate reproduces a painting by Pierre Billet (1837 to 1922), a French painter of peasant life who worked in the realist tradition of Jules Breton. The margin reads "Peint par Pierre Billet", and the painter's signature appears in the lower left of the image. The painting is recorded as "Wood Gatherers". The line "Photogravure & Imp. Goupil & Cie" names the Paris house that made and printed the plate.
The photogravure process carries the light and shade of the forest in continuous tone, with the bark, the grasses and the folds of the women's clothes all clearly rendered.
A thoughtful image for a living room or library wall, and its strong verticals make it a good companion to other landscapes in a hung arrangement.
This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
