"Albine" - Lithographie originale sur Japon - L'Estampe Moderne

Rare original colour lithograph executed by Albert-Émile Artigue for L'Estampe Moderne, series no. 10 published in February 1898.
One of 50 deluxe proofs printed on Japon with wide margins, artist's signature within the stone, publisher's blindstamp depicting a child's profile in the lower margin, numbered stamp of the deluxe issue on the verso; the print is preceded by a captioned tissue guard with the artist's name, the title and an excerpt from the work; with additional plain tissue guard.
Lithograph inspired by an excerpt from Emile Zola's novel, La Faute de l'abbé Mouret, reproduced on the tissue guard of the print.
A magnificent French monthly publication issued between May 1897 and April 1899, L'Estampe Moderne comprises original chromolithographs which, unlike other periodicals such as Les Maîtres de l'Affiche and as specified on the tissue guards, were created expressly for the journal by each artist. In all, 100 prints were published, encompassing the major artistic movements of the late 19th century: Symbolism, Art Nouveau, the Pre-Raphaelites, Orientalism and the Belle Époque. Each issue of four plates was printed in 2000 copies sold at 3.50 francs and 100 on Japon paper offered at 10 francs. Henri Piazza also planned an exclusive printing of the utmost luxury: 50 copies on Japon with wide margins and 50 in black on China paper at the considerable price of 30 francs.
This large-format print is superbly printed on the most prestigious of papers: Japon. Thick, silky, satin-finished and pearly, it elevates each sheet into a work of art in its own right. Its exceptional capacity for ink absorption and affinity with colour make it the ideal medium for these splendid lithographs.
The interest of French collectors in artistic posters intensified at the beginning of the 1890s. Octave Uzanne, to describe this craze, coined the term “affichomanie”. The poster, originally popular and pasted up on the streets of the capital, then became an art object, its ephemeral support transformed into something precious and destined for preservation.
Piazza resolved to remove the poster from its advertising purpose and elevate it to the rank of a work of art in its own right, on a par with the deluxe illustrated book. In this way he assembled a prestigious collection of entirely original works by the most prominent European artists of the time: Georges de Feure, Eugène Grasset, Henri Detouche, Emile Berchmans, Louis Rhead, Gaston de Latenay, Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer, Gustave-Max Stevens, Charles Doudelet, Hans Christiansen, Henri Fantin-Latour, Steinlen, Ibels, Engels, Willette, Henri Meunier, Evenepoël, Bellery-Desfontaines, Charles Léandre, etc.
A handsome copy.