Arthur Henri LEFORT des YLOUSES

Arthur Henri Lefort des Ylouses (1846-1912) is an enigmatic figure in French art history.  He is known to have been a painter, suspected of being a ceramist, and he could be an etcher, but that may be someone else by the same name…  One thing is certain, Lefort des Ylouses created amazing and highly unusual embossed prints, gypsographs to be precise.  While colors do show up on occasion, they are often monochromatic, or close to it, with brown dominating.  His subjects, symbolistic in style, are mythological, historic and religious.  Lefort des Ylouses stands alone.  His prints mostly relate to the artform resembling the work of bookbinders, ceramists, or glass artists.