STEEL ENGRAVING – “THE RESTING-PLACE OF THE DEER” from the painting by Rosa Bonheur, engraved by C. G. Lewis, printed in 1886.  This engraving is in very good condition.  The actual engraving measures 9 7/8” x 7 7/8”, and is matted to 12” x 16” for easy framing.

Rosa Bonheur worked in her studio, until she was an elderly woman.  She has reflected honor upon France, acquired a large fortune, and enjoyed the singular distinction of never having painted a picture, which she could not sell.  In her time, she became more successful than most women with her brush.  Her method had always been the man’s method of going out-doors and making studies direct from Nature; and so determined was she to rid her neighbors of any idea that being a woman incapacitates her for man’s work in art, that she usually appeared in the country dressed in men’s clothes, and was mistaken for a man by those who do not know her.  Her familiarity with the habits of animals, wild and domestic, is extraordinary.  As the French say, she possessed her subject; and some of her happiest delineations have been those of oxen plowing in the Nirvana, and of deer in the forest of Fontainebleau.  She was known all over the world by her picture of the “Horse Fair,” in which, for the first time, a woman succeeded in showing that she could paint the horse as well as a man ever did.  Artists in all countries respect the name of Rosa Bonheur, and women in all countries have a right to thank her for the honor, which she has reflected upon their sex in the finest department of artistic achievement.

   IMPORTANT TO NOTE

Antique prints, etchings, engravings, and lithographs are printing processes, which use steel, copper, stone or wood blocks or plates to produce a picture on paper.

Most antique prints and engravings, which are seen on the internet today, are bookplates.  Because they are pages from a book, there are multiple copies in existence.  This does not, however, mean that they are "reproductions" that have been printed recently.  Because they were, at some point, part of books, some have been preserved in excellent condition, while others show signs of age, as yellow spots or darkness on the edge of the page from being handled.

Engravings, and lithographs are high quality pieces of art, as it took a highly trained artist many hours of work to produce one.  Although there may be multiple copies still in existence, the date of the item should be stated in the auction, thus giving the buyer an idea of its age.

SSHIPPING AND HANDLING – Piority Mail $7.50