Émile Friant (1863-1932) (After) - Lot 111

Émile Friant (1863-1932) (After) Self-portrait painting. 1911. Original proof. Etching dedicated "To René d'Avril. Cordial Souvenir". Very fine proof on vellum, annotated "25 épreuves", dedicated to René d'Avril, poet and art critic. Signed in pencil lower right in the margin. Fading in margins. H_43,5 L_33 cm. Provenance: - Mademoiselle MALGRAS (daughter of René D'Avril) Émile Friant (1863-1932), born in Dieuze in Moselle and settled in Nancy after the annexation of 1871, was a French painter, engraver and illustrator, considered one of the last representatives of naturalism. A pupil of Théodore Devilly in Nancy, then of Alexandre Cabanel in Paris, he won the second Prix de Rome in 1883 with a mythological subject. His work is characterized by great precision of detail, a measured palette and an almost photographic rendering of figures and genre scenes. Friant's interest in scenes of daily life, the psychology of individuals and the effects of light give his compositions an intimate, realistic atmosphere. Among his major works are "La Toussaint" (1888) and "Les Amoureux" (1888), now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy, and "Ombres portées" (1891) in the Musée d'Orsay. He also produced numerous engravings and illustrations throughout his career. Elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1923, Friant died in Paris in 1932, leaving an abundant and refined body of work that testifies to his attention to everyday life, the human condition and meticulous observation of reality, consolidating his place among the major figures of French naturalism in the late XIXᵉ and early XXᵉ centuries.