Charles Maurin

Drypoint on laid paper.

References: Delteil 3, Wittrock 242.

Exceedingly scarce impression from 1898, before the 1911 and 1926 editions. As a matter of fact, this is the very impression reproduced by Loys Delteil in his 1920 catalog raisonné! We know this because the stain (see below) in our impression is already there, reproduced in his catalog. In this state the linework in the lower left corner and to the right of the face is still fully visible, and rich with burr.

An unusually dark and sharp impression, with very rich burr and subtle but warm plate tone.

This shows Toulouse-Lautrec's amazing draftsmanship and the assuredness of his intuitive line. Given the scarcity of his output in intaglio, this is a particularly rare work by the Belle Epoque master.