Manuel Robbe: master of the painterly aquatint

Manuel ROBBE (1872-1936) quickly rose to prominence in the Parisian Belle Époque art scene and was a prolific chronicler of cosmopolitan French city dwellers, particularly elegantly dressed women. While the charm of his color aquatints, and this romantic era, remain fresh and delicately drawn, the market has waned in value considerably.

Let’s seize the opportunity to reconsider this talented artist and see the fantastic value and quality of his work with fresh eyes.

This page will be updated periodically, to add images and descriptions of prints by Manuel Robbe.  We will be following the order in which they were cataloged by the Merrill Chase Gallery in Chicago, IL in the 1979 and 1980.  These catalogs are also referenced as Perruseaux-Kirschen.  Charles Perruseaux, print curator at the Bibliotheque Nationale de France at the time.  The BN as it is known to insiders is the repository of the largest collection of French print in the world, by far, numbering in the hundreds of thousands.  Perruseaux helped Ivo (von) Kirschen, who was then the director of fine prints at Merrill Chase establish these valuable catalogs.  Works not found in these two catalogs will refence the catalog from 1987 by Galerie Michael in Beverly Hills, where Ivo Kirschen had taken his talents to work for Michael Schartz.

The Picture Album / L’Album d’Images (Original French title)
Color etching, 1903. Reference: Merrill Chase # 2. Publisher: Edmund Sagot, Paris.
Plate size: 19 3/8 x 15 inches, 495 x 380 mm.


In Saint-Ouen / A St. Ouen (Original French title)
Color aquatint and drypoint, circa 1907. Reference: Merrill Chase # 3.
Plate size: 14 3/4 x 18 3/4 inches, 375 x 475 mm.

In a Forest on a Tandem / Au Bois en Tricycle (Original French title)
Color aquatint and etching, 1907. Reference: Merrill Chase # 5.
Plate size: 19 1/4 x 14 3/4 inches, 490 x 375 mm.

In the Boulogne Park / Au Bois de Boulogne (Original French title)
Color aquatint, circa 1907. Reference: Merrill Chase # 6.
Plate size: 11 3/8 x 15 1/2 inches, 289 x 394 mm.

By the Lake / Au Bord du Lac (Original French title)
Color aquatint and etching, circa 1906. Reference: Merrill Chase # 7.
Plate size: 19 1/4 x 14 3/4 inches, 490 x 375 mm.

Before Posing / Avant la Pose (Original French title)
Color aquatint and etching, circa 1907. Reference: Merrill Chase # 8.
Plate size: 19 5/8 x 14 7/8 inches, 498 x 378 mm.

The Beautiful Impression / La Belle Epreuve (Original French title)
Color aquatint and etching, 1905. Reference: Merrill Chase #11.
Published by Georges Petit.
Plate Size: 19 5/8 x 13 inches.

The Trinkets / Les Bibelots (Original French title)
Color aquatint and etching, 1909. Reference: Merrill Chase #12.
Plate Size: 19 5/8 x 13 3/8 inches / 500 x 340 millimeters.

The Librarian / La Bibliothécaire (Original French title)
Color aquatint and drypoint, 1906. Reference: Merrill Chase #13.
Published by Pierrefort.
Plate Size: 14 7/8 x 9 3/4 inches / 378 x 248 millimeters.

The Love Letter / Le Billet Doux (Original French title)
Color aquatint, c. 1901. Reference: Merrill Chase #104.
Plate Size: 13 x 8 7/8 inches.

Sagot Exhibition / Exposition chez Sagot (Original French title)
Color aquatint and etching, 1903. Reference: Merrill Chase #120.
Plate Size: 8 1/4 x 5 7/8 inches.

The Chestnut Vendor / Le Marchand de Marrons (Original French title)
Aquatint, 1911. Reference: Merrill Chase #155. Publisher: Edmund Sagot, Paris.
Plate Size: 23 5/8 x 17 ¾ inches.