Featuring the work of 74 artists and their facsimile letters, this portfolio is a keystone to Europe's Art Nouveau print culture
Originally published in France during the mid-1890s by visionary publisher Andr Marty, L'Estampe originale is widely regarded as one of the greatest collaborations in the history of printmaking. Its quarterly issues featured such distinguished names as Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin, Renoir, Pissarro, Whistler and more. Collecting all 95 works of art by 74 artists, this catalogue raisonn of L'Estampe originale highlights the importance of color lithography during the last decade of the 19th century. Hundreds of mostly unpublished handwritten original and facsimile letters from these artists and from Marty's collaborators add depth and new understanding. This vast chorus of voices allows the reader to eavesdrop directly on the past and reveals rich details of the life and working methods of Andr Marty--an ambitious cultural insider and artist, art historian, critic, editor, publisher, private dealer and entrepreneur.