Description
“Bastion 66” is an antique copper plate etching drawn in 1870 by the French artist Maxime Lalanne.
Annotations
Inscribed in plate: Lalanne (lower right) printed in the lower margin: Maxime Lalanne del et sculpt. (lower left) Bastion 66, Cote Interieur de la Porte de Versailles. Vue sur Saint Clous, Montretout et le Mont Valerien/ 1870-1871.
This historical etching shows the battery and artillery on the heights overlooking Paris, France; windmill on the right, cannon on the left, and Paris in the distance. The siege of Paris in the Franco- Prussian War extended from 1870-1871 and resulted in the defeat of France and the establishment of the German Empire. The Butte de Montmartre is a familiar scene overlooking almost the whole of Paris, but no one alive today has seen it lined as it is here with cannons pointed at the city below. [Source: Wikipedia]. I acquired this historical etching at an estate sale in Westport, Connecticut.
About Maxime Lalanne
Maxime Lalanne studied in Paris in the studio of Jean Gigoux and made his Salon debut in 1852. He was an important player in the etching revival in France and was a founding member in 1862 of the Societe des Aquafortistes. He made prints after artists such as Corot and Constant Troyon (a Barbizon school artist). He also produced illustrations for books by Victor Hugo in 1864. Lalanne’s drawings were very often critical of Napoleon Bonaparte and the French Second Republic, especially his collection of prints titled “Souvenirs Artistiques du Siege de Paris” (1871) which included “Bastion 66.” His work was also featured in famed Joseph Pennell’s book “Etchers and Etchings.” [Complied using Wikipedia & University of Glasgow sources.]
Museum Collections (many)
- J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC
- British Museum, London, GB
- Harvard Museum of Art, Massachusetts, USA
