Paul César Helleu

Portrait de femme en buste, de profil a gauche, un tres large ruban noir du cou

1901

The Forge Drypoint, 1861 Signed in the plate lower right (see photo) Published as part of the Thames Set, 1871 Printed between 1894 and 1896 when the plate was canceled. This impress...

Portrait de petite fille, en buste, cheveux sur les epaules (Ellen 14 ans) Portrait of a little girl, bust, hair on shoulders) Drypoint, 1902 Signed lower right corner Very small edition Portrait of the artist's daughter Ellen, at age 14. Title inscribed into the plate upper left Brilliant impression full of burr No stated edition, proofs only, less than 10 imps Unidnetified collector's mark verso: Initials "PH", not in Lugt Reference: Laran, IFF No. 390 Condition: Excellent Image/Plate eize: 14 3/4 x 12 5/8 inches Sheet size: 25 x 16 inches "Paul César Helleu was born in Vannes, Brittany, France. His father, who was a customs inspector, died when Helleu was in his teens. Despite opposition from his mother, he then went to Paris and studied at Lycée Chaptal. In 1876, at age 16, he was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts, beginning academic training in art with Jean-Léon Gérôme. Helleu attended the Second Impressionist Exhibition in the same year, and made his first acquaintances with John Singer Sargent, James McNeill Whistler, and Claude Monet. He was struck by their modern, bold alla prima technique and outdoor scenes, so far removed from the studio. Following graduation, Helleu took a job with the firm Théodore Deck Ceramique Française hand-painting fine decorative plates. At this same time, he met Giovanni Boldini, a portrait painter with a facile, bravura style, who became a mentor and comrade, and strongly influenced his future artistic style. When he was 18 years old, Helleu established a close friendship with John Singer Sargent, four years his senior, that was to last his lifetime. Already becoming established, Sargent was receiving commissions for his work. Helleu had not sold anything, and was deeply discouraged almost to the point of abandoning his studies. When Sargent heard this, he went to Helleu and picked one of his paintings, praising his technique. Flattered that Sargent would praise his work, he offered to give it to him. Sargent replied, "I shall gladly accept this, Helleu, but not as a gift. I sell my own pictures, and I know what they cost me by the time they are out of my hand. I should never enjoy this pastel if I hadn't paid you a fair and honest price for it." With this he paid him a thousand-franc note. Helleu was commissioned in 1884 to paint a portrait of a young woman named Alice Guérin (1870–1933). They fell in love, and married on 28 July 1886. Throughout their lives together, she was his favourite model. Charming, refined and graceful, she helped introduce them to the aristocratic circles of Paris, where they became popular fixtures. On a trip to London with Jacques-Émile Blanche in 1885, Helleu met Whistler again and visited other prominent artists. His introduction to James Jacques Tissot, an accomplished society painter from France who made his career in England, proved a revelation. In Tissot, Helleu saw, for the first time, the possibilities of drypoint etching with a diamond point stylus directly on a copper plate. Helleu quickly became a virtuoso of the technique, drawing with the same dynamic and sophisticated freedom with his stylus as with his pastels. His prints were very well received, and they had the added advantage that a sitter could have several proofs printed to give to relations or friends. Over the course of his career, Helleu produced more than 2,000 drypoint prints. Soon, Helleu was displaying works to much acclaim at several galleries. Degas encouraged him to submit paintings to the Eighth Impressionist Exhibition in May and June 1886. The show was installed in a Paris apartment at 1 rue Laffitte, which ran concurrently with the official Salon that year to make a statement. Although 17 artists joined the famous exhibit that included the first Neo-Impressionistic works, Helleu, like Monet, refused to participate. Paul Helleu Sketching with His Wife (1889), by John Singer Sargent, The Brooklyn Museum, New York In 1886, Helleu befriended Robert de Montesquiou, the poet and aesthete, who bought six of his drypoints to add to his large print collection. Montesquiou later wrote a book about Helleu that was published in 1913 with reproductions of 100 of his prints and drawings. This volume remains the definitive biography of Helleu. Montesquiou introduced Helleu to Parisian literary salons, where he met Marcel Proust, who also became a friend. Proust created a literary picture of Helleu in his novel Remembrance of Things Past as the painter Elstir. (Later, Helleu engraved a well-known portrait of Proust on his deathbed.) Montesquiou's cousin, the Countess Greffulhe, enabled Helleu to expand his career as a portrait artist to elegant women in the highest ranks of Paris society, portraits that provide the basis for his modern reputation. His subjects included the Duchess of Marlborough, the Marchesa Casati, Belle da Costa Greene, Louise Chéruit, and Helena Rubinstein. Looking for new inspiration, Helleu began a series of paintings and color prints of cathedrals and stained glass windows in 1893, followed by flower studies and landscapes of parks in Versailles. Helleu took up sailing, owning four yachts over his life. Ships, harbor views, life at port in Deauville, and women in their fashionable seaside attire became subjects for many vivid and spirited works. In 1904, Helleu was awarded the Légion d'honneur and became one of the most celebrated artists of the Edwardian era in both Paris and London. He was an honorary member in important beaux-arts societies, including the International Society of Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers, headed by Auguste Rodin, and the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. On his second trip to the United States in 1912, Helleu was awarded the commission to design was the ceiling decoration in New York City's Grand Central Terminal. He decided on a mural of a blue-green night...

La Toilette Drypoint, 1908 Signed and numbered in pencil by the artist (see photos) Edition: 65 this state (35/65) Published by Gustave Pellet (1859-1919),...

On Christmas Day Drypoint and aquatint, 1979 Signed lower right: Gene Kloss (see photo) Inscribed lower left: "Artist's Proof", and titled "On Christmas Day" An "artist's proof" imp...

Keresan Dancers Etching & drypoint, 1962 Signed lower right (see photo) Inscribed lower left: "Artist's Proof Keresan Dancers" Depicts Keresan speaking peoples at Sam Felipe Pue...

Woman's Head (Vrouwekop), Marguerite Adolphine Helfrich Drypoint, 1897 Signed lower right in pencil: J Toorop; by later hand Toorop's model for this print was Marguerite Adolphine H...

This original etching and drypoint is hand signed in pencil by the artist "L. Ury" at the lower left margin. It was published in an edition of 110 hand signed impressions by Propyläe...

This original etching and drypoint is hand signed in pencil by the artist "L. Ury" at the lower left margin. It is also hand numbered in pencil from the edition of 150, at the lower ...

Dans les Cendres (In the embers). 1887. Delteil catalog 67 state iii. State after the plate was cut down and a second figure eliminated (the two earlier states are of the greatest rarity). Etching, drypoint and roulette. 16 3/4 x 12 1/8 (sheet 19 1/2 x 14). Edition 50. Illustrated: Print Collector's Quarterly 9 (1921): 254. A very rich impression with plate tone and drypoint burr, printed on simili-japon. Provenance: Frederick Keppel & Co. This is one of the artist's most striking images. Signed in pencil. Housed in 25 x 20-inch archival mat, suitable for framing. Paul Albert Besnard, was an impressionist painter. In 1866, the seventeen-year-old son of artist parents began his studies at the École des Beaux-Arts Paris. In 1874, Besnard won the important Prix de Rome, with which the academy distinguished young talent. A portion of the scholarship is a stay of several years in Rome. Besnard married Charlotte Dubray, a sculptress, during this time in Rome. The couple lived in England, where Besnard exhibited at the Royal Academy London, between 1881 and 1884. He became involved with English portrait painting during this period, which had a lasting influence on his work. In the years that followed, Besnard broke with the academic tradition. In 1886, he presented the portrait of Madame Roger Jourdain...

The Venetian Mast. 1879-80. Etching and drypoint. Kennedy catalog 195 state .vi; Glasgow catalog 219 state x/xii. 13 3/8 x 6 3/8. Glasgow records 53 impressions. A fine, atmospheric...

En plein soleil. (In the Sunlight). 1881. Etching and drypoint. Tissot 54, Béraldi 45, Wentworth 54. 7 13/16 x 11 1/2 (sheet 11 1/4 x 15). Edition about 100. Mat line and two hinge s...

Hélène of Septeuil (enfant au perroquet) (child with a parakeet). c. 1889-1890. Drypoint. Breeskin, 134.v. 9 3/8 x 6 1/4 (sheet 15 3/4 x 9 7/8). A rich impression with burr and plate...