114 - Eugène Viala (1859–1913) Gestures of the Earth.
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Estimate €800 - €1,000

Description

Eugène Viala (1859–1913) *Gestures of the Earth*. 25 etchings by E. Viala. 1911–1913. An oblong album [330 x 260 mm], in loose sheets, containing 25 prints, including a title page. Etching (with aquatint for the title page). Costecalde nos. 342 to 366. Very fine prints on cream laid paper with the ‘Rives / Eug. Delâtre’ watermark, followed by a list of subjects. Slight foxing on the reverse of plate 25 and on the list. Full margins. Folder lined with grey vellum, bearing the title repeated on the top cover, with the pencil inscription ‘number 34’ in the lower right-hand corner; the table of subjects repeated on the third cover, with a few short tears and creases along the edges. Printed in an edition of 125 copies. ‘Born in 1859 in Salles-Curan (Aveyron), Eugène Viala was a multifaceted artist: etcher, poet, painter and watercolourist. From 1877 to 1879, he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Montpellier, then moved to Paris in 1881 to study at the Académie Jullian; there he was a pupil of Ernest Hébert (1817–1908). From 1884 to 1889, he frequented the Montmartre and Montparnasse neighbourhoods with a group of friends, all passionate about poetry, painting and ideals. He returned to Rodez in 1889 and worked as a photographer on the side to support his family and raise his four children. From 1890 to 1900, he divided his time between Paris and Rodez to sell his work. This free-spirited, even anarchistic artist, a lover of nature, led a tragically impoverished life, yet never abandoned his fierce determination or his creative fervour, until Maurice Fenaille, a major industrialist and patron of Rodin, Camille Claudel and Bourdelle, came to support his work at the start of the 20th century. Eugène Viala died prematurely as a result of an accident, at the age of 54. [It was through the technique of etching] that his art would develop and find its distinctive character. His engravings fall into two categories: biting visions and desolate allegories, and more realistic yet nonetheless sombre landscapes, inspired by certain austere aspects of his native region, the Lévezou. Here, Viala developed an undisguised fondness for the figures of tormented trees, battling against the elements. His prints are characterised by a form of dark romanticism interwoven with dreamlike visions. […]. The fantastical and visionary dimension of his work places Viala in the tradition of painter-engravers who, from Francisco de Goya to Rodolphe Bresdin and Odilon Redon, were adept at harnessing the evocative power of black ink. ’ (Taylor Foundation, exhibition ‘Eugène Viala – La Cendre du rêve’, 13 March–3 May 2025). The prints in this series, published by Eugène Delâtre following the artist’s death, were to have been signed on each sheet as indicated on the full-page title page, but the artist died as a result of an accident before he could do so.

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About the sale PRESTIGE : Furniture, objets d'art, paintings

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Auction time 10/14/2026 at 2:30 PM

Ref. : C00693 - 1

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114 - Eugène Viala (1859–1913) *Gestures of the Earth*. See original version (French)

114 - Eugène Viala (1859–1913) Gestures of the Earth.
See original version (French)