Medium: Lithograph, chîne-collé
Dimensions: 8 7/8 x 5 3/4 inches
Artist details: French, 1849 - 1904
Date of impression: 1886
Reference: Hediard 63

Recommended by Paige (Collections Manager / Marketing Coordinator):

I love when art forms interact, like in this lithograph by Henri Fantin-Latour which depicts a scene from the tragic opera, ’Rienzi’, by Richard Wagner. It captures the finale, with Rienzi on his knees, fires destroying the city through the window, and Rienzi’s sister Irene emerging from the shadows. Rienzi, the protector of the people who rose to power as a mere plebeian, is betrayed and now condemned to death. Still, Wagner and Fantin-Latour both remember the importance of Irene. A constant character who actually opens the opera, she appears here to show her loyalty and choose the same fate as her brother in the name of uniting Rome, even though she has the option to attempt an escape with Adriano.

Series: Miserere
Medium: Mixed etching
Dimensions: 22 3/4 x 16 1/4 inches
Signature: None were signed. Watermark, Ambroise Vollard
Artist details: French, 1871 - 1958
Edition: 208/425 (+ 25 HC)
Printer: Jacquemin, 1922 - 1927
Publisher: Société d'Édition l'Étoile Filante, Paris 1948

Recommended by Nikki (Fine Print Photographer & Content Publisher):
"Georges Rouault was commissioned to make this piece as a part of the Miserere (Misery) Series in 1916 (during WWI). During times of collective or individual trauma, people have always turned to artists to give themselves moments of peace, escape, or distraction. Visual arts, books, netflix, memes, and music are all things we are using today to deal with the pandemic and our own individual struggles. This etching reminds its viewers of the importance of artists and their creativity. Rouault’s work, ‘il serait si doux d’aimer’ or ‘to love would be so sweet’ gives just as much sweetness and comfort today as it did when it was published in 1948. Humans need connection and love. Even in gray, Rouault’s blend of fauvism and expressionism in this image of parent and child puts a small, but strong light on this pocket of love amongst all the misery that surrounds it."