Eugène Stanislas Alexandre Bléry

Eugène Bléry, the son of a mathematics professor at the École militaire, initially trained to become a university teacher, his artistic activities being of secondary interest. Around 1830, he resolved to devote himself exclusively to art and was given his first lessons by Jean François Hue and Jules-Louis-Philippe Cogniet. Bléry worked almost entirely as an etcher. Virtually all his preliminary studies were made from nature and occasionally he even drew his design straight onto the plate en plein air. The unflagging patronage of the Montalivet family also enabled the artist to take personal charge of the publication of his numerous nature studies, which were distinguished by their botanical precision. The present plant study stems from a set of six prints produced between 1847 and 1855. Before the title and the number. A superb, tonal proof with fine plate tone and wiping marks, with margins around the distinct platemark. Minors signs of ageing, tiny holes from former stitch binding at the top, otherwise in immaculate condition.