Three Meaningful Hand-Colored Etchings by Paul Mansard, Signed
Item Details
A trio of matted hand-colored etchings by illustrator Paul Mansard, hand titled and signed in pencil, and framed under glass. At first glance, the aquatints appear to be wonderful, simple sketches of monuments in France, including the two magnificent French Gothic cathedrals in Amiens and Reims and the law courts of Rouen, captured at the start of the 20th century. But a closer examination of the Reims cathedral (or a glance at the handwritten caption) indicates that this magnificent structure has been ‘bombardé,’ bombed by the Germans in the first World War. Mansard’s telling series of aquatints, of which this trio forms a wonderful sampling, represents a purposeful undertaking tracking the progress of destruction by the Germans throughout France and Belgium; figuratively, it evokes the political, religious, and architectural greatness of which man is capable, and of the depravity and desolation, too. Quite popularly consumed, even during the war, these lovely images – featuring soft, warm backdrops of gold and rose colored skies – suggest perhaps the artist’s dream of a friendlier dawn.
Dimensions
Measurements describe dimensions of a single piece of art work, in frame.
Item #
14COL019-101
