Louis Marin Bonnet

Le Dejeune, aquatint etching by Louis Marin Bonnet.

Louis Marin Bonnet came from a family of artisans and was trained in the craft of engraving by his brother-in-law, the engraver Louis Legrand (1723-1808).

Via Legrands connections in the art world, Bonnet became the pupil of Jean-Charles François. After a year of study, Bonnet and François invented the “crayon manner”. This was a engraving technique invented to imitate the look of a chalk drawing.  In 1760, Bonnet was ready to set up his own shop. During this period he perfected the crayon manner by producing prints using several different plates, each inked with a different color. These were very valuable and labor intensive processes that where simplified later on.  He also experimented with aquatint-like techniques designed to reproduce wash drawing.

Bonnet was considered one of the most significant representatives of engraving in pastel manner. engravings with mythological and gallant scenes, as well as portraits and nudes. He engraved after his friend Francois Boucher, Francois-Hubert Drouais and Jean-Baptiste Huet.
Works of Louis Marin Bonnet are part of the collections of many  international museums.

These Aquatints are for sale on etsy:

Two antique aquatint prints by Bonnet

Le Gouter, Breakfast 1780

Le Gouter, Breakfast

Freudenberg, Lingee and Romanet

Two French Baroque etchings with colored accents after Freudenberg 1774, Paris.

1. Le Lever, Romanet after Freudenberg

Le lever is an etching after Sigmund Freudenberg, (Swiss)  by Romanet, depicting the French ritual of getting op or rising “Le Lever”. Friends and other visitors could visit the persons of fame and wealth at their house while getting dressed. This could take several hours up to the point where people would stay in bed for a whole morning for the time of the “Lever”. Sometimes they even had to go bed again, and get dressed all over for an extended Lever if they had many visitors.

A historical very nice and interesting plate that turns up occasionally on the market. This is one of the customs and rituals Freudenberg, painter and engraver produced for publisher Prault,Francois. These plates where meant to educate the not so rich in the ways, fashion and etiquette of the happy few. The plates where not a big success because Freudenberg had no knowledge of the French high society customs. At one point, (1773) Freudenberg disappeared all together, thus never finishing the series. Some of these plates are finished by others. The plate measures: 49.5 x 29,5 cm. and is printed on laid paper. Plate marks from the etching process are visible outside the margins. A lovely plate, well preserved for its age. Dated around 1770-1780.

2. L’ occupation, Lingee after Freudenberg

This engraving is one out of a suite of several prints, called: “Monument du Costume Physique et Moral de la fin du Dix-huitième siècle”.

The series was meant to educate people about the fashion, manners and morals of the wealthy. This one is from the first suite and deals mainly with costume and manners. In the lower left corner it reads: I. H. E. inv. S. Freudenberg del. On the right it reads: Lingee sculp. In the middle there is also an address in Paris and the date: 1774. The plate measures 43 x 29,5 cm. and is printed on laid paper. In very good condition for its age.

This is the best of the two plates and also the scarcest of the two.

 

Name: L’occupation & Le Levee

Date 1774

Origin Paris France

Engavers: Romanet and Lingee

Genre: French costumes

After Freudenberg.

Price: 115 euro exclusive of shipping costs.

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Kleiner, Salomon and Basset

Two old engravings glued to one piece of paper.

Two very old engravings from different countries, glued to one sheet of paper. framed and behind glass, 1720 and 1760

1) Un grand Boulingrain borde des Marroniers S. (Salomon) Kleiner commissioned by publisher I. A Pfeffel.

An engraving by Austrian engraver Kleiner, Salomon of the gardens of lustshloss “Favorite”.

The first engraving is dated between 1723-1726, and called ” Un grand Boulingrain borde des Marroniers”. and in German: “Ein groses Boulingrain mit kastanien baumen belest”. 

A big bassin shaped garden and border planted with chestnut trees.

On this nice engraving we see a group of people strolling and enjoying a wonderful, 18th century garden. This garden is probably located in Mainz next to the Rhine river and called “ Lustschloss Favorite” and also just “Favorite”.

This was the location of a German castle with huge gardens, meant to please the eye and entertain with huge Baroque gardens and water games.The whole complex was build between 1700 and 1730. Luckily, there is a lot of information about this Castle and eventually its destruction so you can enjoy the rich history behind this engraving. A lot of information is also available about the maker, Salomon Kleiner.

The engraving is printed on laid paper and framed behind glass in a simple black frame with a cream colored matte. The print measures: 28 x 19,5 cm. The condition of this engraving is excellent.

 

Verso, we find glued to the same paper a very old engraving from France.

 

2) Maison the plaisance du grand Mogol a quelques milles de Dely

 

Maison the plaisance du grand Mogol a quelques milles de Dely, ca. 1760 Basset

The second engraving is made in Paris by the publisher Basset, ca. 1760

In the lower middle of the plate we find the text A Paris chez Basset rue st Jacques a Se Genevieve.

The plate was colored sloppy and has some tears. I believe it was colored after publication. The margins on the right side have been trimmed. The engraving was printed on laid paper and measures 39,5 x  39 cm. It was glued onto a piece of paper. This engraving also has a history to tell, mainly about Europe’s interference and arguing over the Moghuls empire in India and the founding of several European Trading Compagnies in India, aiming at the gain of land and setting up economical trade of spices, sugar and other Indian riches to Europe. 

Price: 175 euro exclusive of shipping costs.

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——-> SOLD, Bonnet, Louis Marin

 L’amant ecoute, stipple engraving, 1785

This is one of a set of two courtship engravings by Louis Marin Bonnet, (1748-1793), after a painting of Jean-Frédéric Schall.  This engraving is called “L’Amant Ecoute” the other engraving in this series is called: “L’ eventail Casse”. This seems to be a print of the second state of the engraving.  The frame was scratched and has been retouched and repaired at the bottom. (Click here for a blog-report on this work).

The beautifully detailed  rococo engraving has some minor foxing and light soiling but seems overall in very good condition. At some point in time, someone added a matte to prevent damage, the matte also has some foxing. Please see the framing and close-up for more information about this plates authenticity.  The measurements of the engraving are ca. 32 x 24 cm, (the visible part of the plate) and the measurements of the frame are: 42,5 x 35 cm.

About Louis Bonnet, (Paris, 1736 or 1743 – Saint-Mande , 12 October 1793

Louis-Marin Bonnet is a draftsman and engraver to wash and crayon manner , he improved the technique. He excels in the art of pastel , even producing a small treatise entitled The Pastel engraving, invented and executed by Louis Bonnet in 1769. He was a pupil of Jean-Charles François and composed hundreds of drawings and prints, today listed and present in public collections. His studio-shop (selling drawings and prints ) amounted to 1772 in Paris at the corner of rue Saint-Jacques and Rue de la Parcheminerie , second floor. He also had an address rue Galande (1767-1772).

He signed either Bonnet or sometimes Marin or Tennob.  (Source, Wikipedia) (translated)

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