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[SIGNOVERT Jean – FAUTRIER Jean]
See original version (French)
11
-
[SIGNOVERT Jean – FAUTRIER Jean]
See original version (French)
Estimate €200 - €300
Voluntary lot
Description
[SIGNOVERT Jean – FAUTRIER Jean]
Autograph manuscript by Jean Signovert.
A set of two double-sided handwritten sheets bound at the top (probably from an A4-sized notepad), written in black ink on paper. Bearing the handwritten note ‘Sur Fautrier’ at the top, attributable to his wife Josie.
Unpublished text devoted to Jean Fautrier’s engravings and his place in the history of modern printmaking.
In this manuscript, Jean Signovert questions the relative silence of the critics regarding Fautrier’s engravings and sets out to demonstrate their major importance in the renewal of printmaking in the 20th century: “Why this silence regarding his engravings?”
The author takes aim at the “false inventors”, whom he accuses of having overlooked or downplayed the contribution of the true creators of printmaking. Drawing on his own experience of the craft, he affirms Fautrier’s unique place amongst the great masters of metal engraving.
In a particularly remarkable passage, Signovert sets out a personal genealogy of the greatest engravers in history:
“Engraving has its sages, and there are three of them: Seghers, Goya and Fautrier,” before adding:
“One man comes very close to them: Jacques Callot.”
For Signovert, these artists share the same profound understanding of the engraved material:
“Of these four men, all have understood the metal, be it copper or zinc.”
The text also develops a fundamental reflection on the very nature of the print. In it, Signovert defends engraving as a creative art in its own right and not merely as a process of reproduction. He attributes a decisive role to Fautrier in this modern redefinition of printmaking: “Fautrier struck a spark” and credits him with restoring to the print “its destiny as pure Creation”.
The conclusion of the manuscript is devoted to the concept of the ‘multiple original’, one of the fundamental issues in the art of printmaking in the 20th century:
‘Are not multiple originals the very lesson of printmaking?’
The closing phrase, underlined by the author: “MULTIPLE ORIGINALS” sums up his conception of printmaking as an original work whose reproduction in no way diminishes its creative value.
Beyond its theoretical interest, this manuscript is striking for its deeply personal tone. Signovert writes here as he speaks, in a spontaneous, direct and passionate style, retaining his turns of phrase, his approximations and his spelling mistakes. This oral quality lends the text a particular power and reveals the author’s deep personal commitment to defending his art.
This document thus emerges as a genuine plea in favour of original printmaking and those who practise it. It constitutes a rare insight into the thinking of a major 20th-century printmaker and his interpretation of Jean Fautrier’s prints.
Transcription:
“How many articles I have read about J. Fautrier; not many, all the same, but I must say one thing: still none about him – that is to say, about J. Fautrier’s engravings.
Why this silence regarding his engravings?
Would it cause discomfort, and if so, to whom?
To the false innovators, those who would like to claim a place that has never been theirs and which, for that very reason, can never be theirs.
Engraving has its masters, and there are three of them: Seghers, Goya and Fautrier.
Two stand out for pure innovation: Seghers and Fautrier. One man comes very close to them: Jacques Callot. All four of these men understood metal, be it copper or zinc.
I neither know nor can say from what source Fautrier drew his inspiration
to find himself on the path of printmaking, but I can and must say one thing: that he revealed it anew and saved it, and he knew, I believe, […] restore to engraving its destined role as pure Creation, its leading role amongst the Arts in our era, when we are still, to 99 per cent, focused on engraving as a means of reproduction.
Fautrier struck the flash of inspiration
that enabled ? to recognise that she was a creator.
Are not ‘original multiples’ the very lesson of printmaking?
Not to be confused with
multiples, which are to Art what prints are to printmaking.
‘MULTIPLE ORIGINALS’.
Provenance: Jean SIGNOVERT’s studio collection.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale
The Jean SIGNOVERT (1919–1981) Studio Collection: his prints, paintings, sculptures and friends
Auction location
Auction time
10/22/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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