Berges du Canal, a.k.a. Rue de la Villette (from Paysages urbains)

Stanley William Hayter

Hayter moved to Paris in 1926 and, after meeting the Polish born engraver Joseph Hecht, began working in engraving, producing his first drypoint that same year. This work is Hayter's 35th editioned print, done in 1930 using engraving and drypoint and done while he was still fascinated by the Parisian cityscapes.

”Paysages urbains” was Hayter's first portfolio of prints which were commissioned by a publisher - Editions des Quatre Chemins. He supervised the printing of the portfolios with Master Printer Paul Hassan. The portfolio was not met with great success and a number of portfolios were broken up, the images were removed and were given titles and sold separately, such as with this impression. There was also an edition of 6 artist's proofs that were numbered A-F.

This impression is the third of six engravings that were published in the portfolio, "Paysages urbains" (Cityscapes) in 1930. Black and Moorhead list this engraving as "Rue de la Villette" and the title "Berges du Canal" does not appear in the index of titles. The title is written in Hayter’s hand. Black and Moorhead state that the individual prints in the portfolio were published without titles and that titles were assigned by Hayter much later to aid in individual identification.

In the early 1930s Hayter was involved in exploring Surrealism. Jacob Kainen, in his introduction in the Black and Moorhead raisonné, states on page 10: "...The drypoint "Rue des Plantes" (1926 - 5) with its tilted houses and lonely bundle-carrying figure is probably his best-known work before the publication in 1920 of "Paysages Urbains", a series of six engravings with added drypoint done in a Surrealist vein. In a decisive taking apart of the artist's immediate surroundings, houses, figures, and animals are made transparent through the superimposition of one gravity-defying subject over another. These strong prints, already individual and consistent in style and substance, rank with the finest work of the period."