François Flameng Furniture

Rare and beautiful etching on wove paper with a watermark, BFK Rives, signed, titled, and published by the Société Française des Amis des Arts around 1900. Title "BAPTEME DANS LA BASSE-ALSACE" engraved by Léopold Flameng (1831-1911), after the painting by his son François Flameng (1856-1923) The etching and plate are in perfect condition, with slight fading on the fringed edges. Dimensions: "Baptème dans la Basse-Alsace" etching: Sheet: 325 x 460 mm - Engraving: 200 x 254 mm - Engraving plate: 250 x 300 mm Engraved signature: Léop. Flameng under the engraving in the center Engraved signature François Flameng 1890-91 in the engraving lower right & Blank signature of the Société Française des Amis des Arts under the engraving lower left. Léopold Flameng, Belgian painter and engraver, was born to French parents. He was a student of Luigi Calamatta and Jean Gigoux. His skill as a burinist brought him to the attention of Charles Blanc, and his collaboration on publications such as L'Artiste and the Gazette des beaux-arts, with Léon Gaucherel, was one of the first engravers for this magazine, which would establish his reputation. Georges Duplessis, art historian, quotes him in a work published in 1869: "Léopold Flameng rose in his time to the rank of master." He received a medal at the 1878 World's Fair. Known for his etchings after Jan van Eyck, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Ingres, and Eugène Delacroix, he illustrated several books on Paris as well as numerous literary works by classical and contemporary authors, including Boccaccio, Paul Scarron, Victor Hugo, and François Coppée. François Flameng was the son of the famous painter and engraver Léopold Flameng. He attended the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris for his secondary education. Learning to paint from his father, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the studio of Alexandre Cabanel, then in those of Pierre Edmond Alexandre Hédouin and Jean-Paul Laurens. As early as 1870, he produced several reproductions of works by painters Alfred Sisley, Édouard Manet, and Claude Monet for the catalog of the Durand-Ruel Gallery. In 1875, he made his debut at the Salon des Artistes Français with his painting "Le Lectern." He received numerous commissions for portraits, historical scenes, and decorative paintings. His academic style, combining precise drawing and mastery of color, appealed to the bourgeoisie and aristocracy of the time. During his career, François Flameng was elevated to the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honor and elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts. He left behind a considerable artistic legacy. His works, preserved in the world's greatest museums, bear witness to his exceptional talent and his significant contribution to French art of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Société Française des Amis des Arts was founded in 1885 at the Palais de l'Industrie for the development of the arts, supported by numerous distinguished subscribers: Messrs. Gaston Doumergue (President of the French Republic), Baron Edmond de Rothschild, Count Greffulhe, the brothers Alfred, Jules, and Léon Bernheim, Louis Boucheron, Edgar Brandt, Emile Buland, Paul Chabas, Viscount Guy de Dampierre, Colonel Francis E. Drake, André Fallières, Louis Lévy, Paul Louchet, Maurice Moisset, Louis Montagné...