Chromogravure/Collotype, 1897
Boussod Manzi, Goupil & Cie., Paris published Degas: vingt dessins 1861-1896 as a selection of drawings chosen by Edgar Degas to encapsulate his career as a draftsman. The original portfolio includes 20 collotypes based on Degas' drawings, this is one of them.
Size of the artwork: 10.8” x 7.6” on 19" x 15.75" paper
Edition size: 100
Justification page of the portfolio was signed in pencil by Degas.
The copy of the justification page and Certificate of Authenticity are included

Vingt dessins portfolio is a curated selection of twenty drawings, chosen by Edgar Degas from throughout his career and meant to engage the viewer in contemplation on his growth as a draftsman and skill in quality of line. Degas worked with Michel Manzi, an Italian printmaker to create highly substantive chromogravure of his drawings, published in 1897. Meant to function as a means to communicate the nuances of craft to the viewer, the works were re-created via chromogravure that Manzi perfected while working for Goupil & Cie.
The concept of experimentation with media and the intersections between technology and art-making preoccupied Degas throughout his career, and as such, Vingt dessins must be reconsidered in this light. The publication was not a solo effort, but rather a collaborative one between Degas and Manzi, and thus Vingt dessins also provides the opportunity to reflect the role of collaboration in the oeuvre of an artist who is often considered (and not entirely without reason) a perfectionist and social misanthrope. The portfolio of Vingt dessins, a published retrospective of Degas' career as a draftsman, emphasizes his interest in curating his own legacy and the role that Manzi took in helping him to shape it.
A complete portfolio is part of the collection of Ryerson and Burnham Libraries, Art Institute of Chicago.

The artwork is not framed, please contact us if you need to arrange framing.

Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas Collotype, "Jeune femme en costume de ville"

Edgar Degas Collotype, "Blanchisseuse"