EUGENE GRASSET (1841-1917) ENCRE L. MARQUET. 1892. Each approximately 20x121/2 inches. G. de Malherbe, Paris. Condition varies, generally B: paper loss in left margin; foxing in margins and image. Paper. This is the first poster of Grasset's that exhibits his artistic style at its full maturity. Victor Arwas explains that to advertise this ink company, Grasset depicts a "dreamy young woman" who is preparing to use her quill, and how the "looming clouds rival the decorative flow of her long hair." Ann Murray Robertson points out "how ingenious [Grasset] was to integrate text and image, turning the advertising panel into an accessory of the décor." This is the smaller of two formats of the poster, offered, here, with a rare black proof, on which one can see the Gillotage (an early form of photo-lithography, invented by Grasset's frined Gillot). The proof also shows the sophistication of the half-tones that could be produced using black, which was always the first color to be printed, and which was key to a good lithograph. This working proof, with some retouching by hand, bears the hand written remark that "on the left the embossing in the clouds has produced (in the tint) undulations that have to disappear." This comment serves to show how demanding Grasset, and his printer de Malherbe were throughout the production process. Arwas p. 33, Grasset p. 115, Maitres 158, DFP-II 404, Gold 3.
