838 - LEPEC, Charles (1830–circa 1890), enamel painter. Set of 4 autograph letters, some addressed to Paul Dalloz. 1878 & 1880. Two with “Reux” letterhead.

LEPEC, Charles (1830–circa 1890), enamel painter. Set of 4 autograph letters, some addressed to Paul Dalloz. 1878 & 1880. Two with “Reux” letterhead. Interesting artistic correspondence from a master French enamel artist. Regarding his enamels: “I received [valuable encouragement] from you when I first began working with enamel. Unfortunately, those happy days are long gone, and the cruel illness—from which I have miraculously escaped—is the result of a fire. In my lifetime, I have seen an enamel piece I had delivered for 14,000 francs sold for 62,500 francs […]. I do not have a single three-dimensional enamel piece to lend to your museum: I have, in my possession, only a portrait of my mother, set within a border of brush-painted arabesques, with 6 to 7 millimeters of relief.” He mentions “soft” drawings that he claims he would have excelled at rendering “far more dynamic,” as well as enamel and cameo designs he is eager to create, etc.