The Embroiderer
La Tapissière (descriptive French title)
Woodcut on thin japon paper.
Artist proof; edition unknown. Certainly only printed in small numbers. We have not encountered any other impression of this work.
Signed and annotated “Epreuve d’artiste” in pencil.
Morin-Jean (Jean Alexis Morin) knew how to use the burin. He seems to be known equally well (or not much at all, if you want to put it that way...) for his pure-line copperplate engravings as for his use of the tool to make woodcuts/wood engravings. This intimate image of a woman at work is made particularly attractive thanks to the juxtaposition of the thin line of an engraving with the thicker gouges of what makes this mostly a woodcut. The patterns in her blouse, the shading in her face, as well as the discreet vertical lines in the window frame all contribute to lending this image an elegance in stark contrast to the strength of the overall composition.
