Lot 400: Clener, A

Clener, A French (early 20th century) FIVE WORKS: GREEK SCENES, plates III, VII, XXI, XXXI, and XLVII hand-colored engraving, framed unsigned various sight sizes: plate order 15 1/4" x 26", 13 1/2" x 17", 14" x 15", 11" x 14", 7 1/2" x 13" *Note: These plates are from an extremely scarce early work titled PEINTURES DE VASES ANTIQUES VULGAIREMENT APPLES ETRUSQUES. Using the great collections of antiquities at Malemaison, the Musee Napoleon, the Bibliotheque Imperiale, and the Sevres porcelain manufactory as his source, the publisher, Dubois Maisonneuve, stated that his intention was to provide a series of plates of the highest quality illustrating the breath-taking scenes depicted by the unknown masters who decorated the Etruscan vases of antiquity. The plates were also intended as examples for contemporary artists, with the publisher noting that the images offered a wonderful source of inspiration: a sentiment that is still true today. This rare two-volume set was published in 1808, designed to be issued in either colored or uncolored, included 270 pages of text and 150 plates. The spectacularly beautiful images engraved by A. Clener, for the style which became known as the neo-classical revival or federal style, designed as a French answer to the great works by William Hamilton and Passeri, this magnificent study draws on the collections of Greek vases preserved in France. The text is by Aubin-Louis Millin de Grandmaison (1759-1818) who was an antiquarian and art historian. He was appointed Keeper of the Department of Antiquities at the Bibliotheque National in Paris, after the fall of Robespierre in 1794, where he also taught the history of art. Today complete color sets are so rare that they command prices well over $20,000 when available.