Negative impression of Masque japonais, La Peur
Maker and role
Artist: Henri Guérard, French, 1846-1897
Year
before 1888
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Object detail
Media/Materials
Etching
Measurements
plate, 4 1/4 x 3 1/2in (10.8 x 8.9cm)
Credit line
Gift of Armstrong Fine Art in honor of the 60th anniversary of the McNay Art Museum
Accession number
2014.100.2
Object type
Department
Location
Further information
Henri Guérard, whom Edouard Manet called the greatest etcher of his day, was a leading proponent of Japanese art. Much of his art, like Masque Japonais, a study of a Japanese theatrical mask, deals with specific Japanese motifs and subjects.
Guérard's prints reveal just how experimental nineteenth century French printmakers could be. Instead of using a square or rectangular copper etching plate, Henri Guérard actually used a plate in the shape of the Japanese mask he represents. Further playing around with the tools in the printmaker's toy box, he first inked the plate as a relief print. In other words, the ink was left on the surface of the plate, not in the etched lines that appear white in the variant impression.
Guérard's prints reveal just how experimental nineteenth century French printmakers could be. Instead of using a square or rectangular copper etching plate, Henri Guérard actually used a plate in the shape of the Japanese mask he represents. Further playing around with the tools in the printmaker's toy box, he first inked the plate as a relief print. In other words, the ink was left on the surface of the plate, not in the etched lines that appear white in the variant impression.
Documentation
Henri Guerard, 1846-1897: L'Oeuvre Grave; Claudie Bertin; 1975; p. 359; 405
Subject period
Docent information sheet
V:\Object Documentation\Prints\2014.100.2 Guerard\Henri Guerard L'Oeuvre Grave 1975.pdf
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