André Derain

Original Prints: Drypoint and Burin Engravings

At the beginning of the last century, sharing a studio with Maurice de Vlaminck, André Derain (1880 - 1954) was to become a major figure of fauvism, with the Salon d'Automne of 1905.

His printmaking was sporadic and his technique variable, but turning to a more structured vision under the joint influence of Cezanne and African tribal art, he produced a few works that stand at the very forefront of the avant-garde of the time, such as this fine engraving, shown here in two separate states.

Quatre Baigneuses dans un Paysage Four Bathers in a Landscape Gilbert 36 drypoint and burin (?) engraving, circa 1908, the extremely rare 1st state (of two?), signed by the artist in pencil This remarkable working proof of Derain's most famous early engraving foreshadows Picasso's Demoiselles d'Avignon, and is a hardy exercise in the geometrical simplification of space and form.

Quatre Baigneuses dans un Paysage Four Bathers in a Landscape Gilbert 36 drypoint and burin (?) engraving, circa 1908, the final state (of two?), signed by the artist in pencil It is worthwhile comparing the two states of this masterful print to appreciate Derain's constructivist approach in building the composition through articulated fields of fine drypoint hatching.         next artist  >