The Matador 1911 |
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Original drypoint.
Signed and numbered in ink.
Hardie 109
S 238 x 325 mm; P & I 176 x 278 mm
SOLD
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Rare – one of only 15 impressions ever printed from this plate.
Excellent signed proof impression, the fresh drypoint burr printing thick and rich.
In July 1911, a year after he had left his job as a bank clerk, James McBey set off on a two month artistic expedition to Spain with fellow etcher D.I. Smart. The prints resulting from this trip, along with those from his stay in Holland, formed the basis for his first successful one-man show in London and are now comparatively rare.
Of the many fine plates which McBey made on his Spanish trip, it is the seven remarkable drypoints of bullfighting which stand out as the great works. The Matador shows the final stage of a bullfight at the bullring in Madrid, the exhausted bull facing the matador directly as he stands poised, waiting to make his final thrust.
On cream laid paper with full margins. Unidentified collector’s stamp "CRG" at extreme corner of sheet, verso. Very fine condition. |
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