Print of the Day!! Fri, June 25, 2022, is by Edgar Chahine (1874-1947): "May" drypoint, 1907, edition 50. $1,250.00.

Print of the Day!! Friday, June 25, 2022, is by Armenian/French printmaker Edgar Chahine (1874-1947)

"May" is an intaglio, a drypoint, done in 1907. The platemark measures 21-1/2 x 17-1/4 inches. This impression is pencil signed and titled by the artist in the lower margin. It was printed by the artist in an edition of 50 impressions on a sheet of antique-white Japon Nacre paper that measures 22-1/4 x 17-1/4 inches. A reference for this image is Taganelli 235, state i/i. Our inventory number for this impression is 22659.

This drypoint by Edgar?Chahine is available from the gallery for $1,250.00.

In 1907, after the death of his fiance Mary Jacobson, Chahine, like Toulouse-Lautrec, turned his focus to elegant "Belle Epoque" portraiture: Parisian entertainers: society women, performers, cafe habitues, 'femmes fatales', shopkeepers, etc.

Chahine truly loved printmaking and worked in all the intaglio techniques, especially drypoint. With a nod to Whistler, he emphasizes the central composition, allowing the surround to drift away and be filled in by the viewer's imagination. "May" wears a large Victorian Gainsborough Hat, the black shadow of which provides a framing for her confident, direct eye contact with the viewer, as she lounges on a divan.

Gabriel Weisberg, in his essay in "Edgar Chahine: La Vie Parisienne" notes on page 23:?

"With Lautrec often the guiding presence, Chahine also tried to synthesize the work of Paul Helleu and thus remain the master interpreter of women among Parisian printmakers..."

Edgar Chahine was born in Austria?in 1874, the son of Armenian parents. His family relocated?to Constantinople?when Edgar was?very young, and at age eighteen he began his art studies with the financial support of his father, who was director of the Ottoman Bank. Hoping to gain more exposure to an active art society, he first traveled to Italy, enrolling at?the prestigious?Armenium?Lyceum?Moorat?Raphael?in Venice and?the renowned?Academia di Belle Arti, where he?studied under Antonio Ermolao Paoletti.?In 1895 he moved to Paris, taking courses at the?Académie Julian under Benjamin Constant and Jean-Paul Laurens. He soon saw success exhibting at the?Societe des Artistes Francais.?

Of particular inspiration to Chahine was the daily life of the poor and middle classes. Though living in the vortex of the international art world at the height of a lavish art scene dedicated to a gilded aesthetic, Chahine's subject matter very quickly turned toward portaying the lives of everyday people, including the conditions lived in by those seen as outcasts. His first painting included at the 1896 Paris Salon was titled "Le Gueux" (The Tramp) and the succession of paintings to follow would deal with similar themes of poverty.

It wasn't until 1899 that Chahine began to experiment with etching, but he quickly took to the medium and served an apprenticeship with printmaker Eugene Delatre. He began to produce works with as much painterly dedication as his works on canvas and by the end of the year he had produced twenty-five intaglios. Of these he exhibited two etching and one drypoint at the 1899 Salon and he received immediate acclaim, prompting the publication of a catalogue of his works by collector and critic Clement Janin and inclusion in a variety of art periodicals. For the next decade, Chahine would concrentrate almost entirely on printmaking.?

To purchase this work, see other works, or read a biography for Edgar Chahine use this link to our website: https://www.annexgalleries.com/inventory/artist/388/Edgar-Chahine.html

Use this link to view our complete inventory on our website: https://www.annexgalleries.com/inventory?q=