108 - Félix Bracquemond (1833–1914)

Félix Bracquemond (1833–1914) It’s Pouring Rain! Circa 1862–1865. Etching and drypoint. 200 x 103 [285 x 205]. Beraldi 212; I.F.F. undescribed (omission). Exceptional print on antique laid paper (with old inscriptions in pen and sepia ink, and the date 1736 in the left margin), extensively annotated in pen and ink at the bottom and along the left edge by the artist. Horizontal and vertical postal folds (the print was sent by mail). Slight foxing and crease marks. All margins intact. AABM postmark (Lugt 3075). Transcription of the text at the bottom: "My dear friend—here is a plate that I am offering you to go with the / 'Fernand' plate. Here are my conditions: either the 'Fernand' plate will be / published on its own, or it will be published with this one, but I do not want the latter / to be published on its own. Cadart owes me 70 francs for the ‘Fernand’ plate and will / give me 50 francs for this one, which will total 120 francs. —If he doesn’t want the same name to appear twice / in his book, he can publish this one anonymously and erase the signature that / appears on it. Yours, Bracquemond / This plate needs to be printed with a slightly more rounded tone / than on this proof. " The handwritten text is likely addressed to the printer Auguste Delâtre (1822–1907), to whom the artist instructs to print his plate “with a slightly softer tone.” This sheet is an invaluable record of Bracquemond’s collaboration with the publisher Alfred Cadart. Between 1862 and 1867, Bracquemond was the driving force behind the Société des Aquafortistes, founded by Cadart. Fernand is likely Fernand Desnoyers (1826–1869), a writer close to Bracquemond, Baudelaire, and Courbet who published several works with Cadart, all of which required frontispiece illustrations or separate plates. The “book” by Cadart mentioned here is undoubtedly *La Peinture en 1863:* the Salon des Refusés, a collective manifesto published under the direction of Fernand Desnoyers (and featuring Baudelaire and Duranty), released in 1863 by Alfred Cadart’s publishing house (then in partnership with the publisher Azur Dutil). Bracquemond provided a satirical frontispiece for this work (the plate for which Cadart owed him 70 francs). Later, tensions arose between the artist, who was becoming increasingly demanding, and the publisher, who was experiencing financial difficulties.