Rodolphe BRESDIN (1822 - 1885) - Lot 66

Rodolphe BRESDIN (1822 - 1885) The Good Samaritan. Lithograph on white chine applied to white vellum. A fine proof of the first or second printing of the first state (1861-1867), with the words Imp.Lemercier below the subject, before the flaws that were already visible in the 1st state B or third printing. Strong horizontal break in the upper part of the subject, tear in the upper left corner, small tears and missing edges, pinholes. Mottling, numerous foxing marks on verso, vellum itself appears to be lined with cardboard. Restorations to edges, margins reduced. Framed. Subject size: 56.5 x 44.5 cm. Sheet size: 57.5 x 46 cm. (Van Gelder 100, M.Preaud 29) After 10 years in Toulouse, Bresdin moved to Paris in 1861 to try his luck with this large stone. The lithograph was exhibited at the 1861 Salon under the title "Abd el-Kader secourant un chrétien" ("Abd el-Kader rescuing a Christian"). On May 6, it was also exhibited in Toulouse, at the Exposition des Beaux-Arts organized by the Union Artistique, one of whose founders was Jules Garipuy, painter, professor at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, curator at the Musée des Augustins and a great friend of Bresdin. Bresdin's masterly print was his most successful, and he managed to sell it regularly. It underwent various changes, postponements and numerous prints of varying quality, culminating in the second state of the transfer stone, made at the request of Rodolphine, Bresdin's eldest daughter. Expert: Madame Sylvie COLLIGNON