Ferme en Bretagne pres Paimpol

Eugene Delatre

Eugene Delatre had recently finished his military duties and a hiatus from art when he created this piece. Likely printed in 1890, “Ferme en Bretagne…(Farm in Brittany…)” is a fine example of Delatre’s early work and testament to his quick grasp of the medium, having only pursued oil and watercolor painting prior to this venture, having only used printing as a commercial medium in his father’s printmaking studio.

A small abandoned farmhouse, with a crumbling facade and thatched roof, is framed by wild foliage that grows around and out of the structure itself. Rich, velvety black shadows and delicate linework show Delatre’s exploration of the varied ways in which drypoint could be used. This kind of contrasting composition would become one of Delatre’s best known styles before he turned his lens to color intaglio printmaking, of which he was a pioneer.