Jean-Gabriel Daragns, Composition, Alternance, Etching

Condition: Pre-Owned
Etching on vlin pur chiffon de Rives paper. Unsigned and unnumbered. Paper Size: 9.875 x 12.875 inches. Excellent condition. Notes: From the folio, Alternance, 1946. Published by Le Gerbier, Paris; printed by atelier Quesneville, Paris, March 2, 1946. Excerpted from the folio (translated from French), Printing was finished on March 2, 1946 on the presses of atelier Quesneville for thirteen etchings; on the presses of Lacourire for the etchings by Henri Matisse and Dignimont; the etching of J.G. Daragnes was engraved by himself; the typography, which is composed of Garamond was printed on the presses of the Master Printer, G. Girard. This collection of sixteen original etchings, alternating with sixteen unpublished writings, CCC examples have been drawn, including XXXVIII on Monival and hand numbered from I to XXXVIII; and, CCLXII on Rives BFK, numbered from XXXIX to CCC. XL examples have been drawn for hors commerce on Lana a la forme have been numbered form of I to XL.

JEAN-GABRIEL DARAGNS (1886-1950) was highly regarded both as a printmaker especially of wood engravings and etchings and also as a master printer of other artists work. Daragns was born in Bordeaux; his father was a carpenter. From 1900-1905 Daragns was apprenticed to a silversmith as an engraver. In 1907, having completed his military service, Jean-Gabriel Daragns went to Paris, dreaming of a life as a Bohemian painter in Montmartre. In order to survive, he took on all kinds of work, and soon turned from landscape painting to printmaking and the art of the book. Daragns was not mobilised for WWI as he suffered from tuberculosis. After the war he wanted to found his own press. By dint of selling everything he possessed, Daragns raised enough money to build a house at 14, avenue Junot in Montmarte, to his own plans, with a printroom on the ground floor, a painting and printmaking studio on the first floor, and living quarters above. There Daragns published some of the most beautiful books of the twentieth century, and also established a literary and artistic salon, whose members included Francis Carco, Pierre Mac Orlan, Colette, Lon-Paul Fargue, Nol Bureau, and Paul Valry. It was Daragns who taught Valry the art of etching.
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