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Maurice Asselin — Mort de quelqu'un
Maurice Asselin

Mort de quelqu'un

1927

Mort de quelqu'un presents a rare convergence of two significant figures in early twentieth-century French culture, the novelist Jules Romains and the printmaker Maurice Asselin, bound together in a refined limited edition published by Crès in Paris in 1927. Asselin's etchings, rendered with quiet precision and tonal sensitivity, accompany Romains' celebrated novel of the same title, a work widely regarded as one of the defining achievements of French modernist fiction. The illustrations neither illustrate nor decorate in any superficial sense; they exist in dialogue with the text, reflecting the novel's preoccupation with collective memory, mourning, and the invisible threads that bind strangers to the fact of a single death. Produced in an edition of 350 numbered copies on fine Rives wove paper, this volume exemplifies the tradition of the livre d'artiste at its most cohesive, where literary and visual authorship carry equal weight. The printing remains fine and bright, with original wraps intact, a condition that speaks to the care with which this copy has been preserved across nearly a century. Each sheet of Rives wove contributes a luminous, velvety ground that heightens the intimacy of Asselin's intaglio lines, giving the etchings a delicacy well-suited to Romains' meditative prose. For collectors drawn to the intersection of modernist literature and original printmaking, this volume offers substantial rarity and coherence. Asselin, a painter and printmaker associated with the School of Paris, brought to his graphic work the same warmth and psychological attentiveness found in his oils, and his contribution here has long been underappreciated relative to the fame of the text it accompanies. Signed copies of illustrated livres de luxe from this period in such well-preserved condition are increasingly difficult to secure, making this an acquisition of genuine historical and aesthetic significance.

Medium
Etchings
Sheet
Signed
Yes
Location
Sylvan Cole Gallery, Sitges, Barcelona

For Sale — €200

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About this work

Maurice Asselin, Mort de quelqu'un, 1927

Mort de quelqu'un presents a rare convergence of two significant figures in early twentieth-century French culture, the novelist Jules Romains and the printmaker Maurice Asselin, bound together in a refined limited edition published by Crès in Paris in 1927. Asselin's etchings, rendered with quiet precision and tonal sensitivity, accompany Romains' celebrated novel of the same title, a work widely regarded as one of the defining achievements of French modernist fiction. The illustrations neither illustrate nor decorate in any superficial sense; they exist in dialogue with the text, reflecting the novel's preoccupation with collective memory, mourning, and the invisible threads that bind strangers to the fact of a single death. Produced in an edition of 350 numbered copies on fine Rives wove paper, this volume exemplifies the tradition of the livre d'artiste at its most cohesive, where literary and visual authorship carry equal weight. The printing remains fine and bright, with original wraps intact, a condition that speaks to the care with which this copy has been preserved across nearly a century. Each sheet of Rives wove contributes a luminous, velvety ground that heightens the intimacy of Asselin's intaglio lines, giving the etchings a delicacy well-suited to Romains' meditative prose. For collectors drawn to the intersection of modernist literature and original printmaking, this volume offers substantial rarity and coherence. Asselin, a painter and printmaker associated with the School of Paris, brought to his graphic work the same warmth and psychological attentiveness found in his oils, and his contribution here has long been underappreciated relative to the fame of the text it accompanies. Signed copies of illustrated livres de luxe from this period in such well-preserved condition are increasingly difficult to secure, making this an acquisition of genuine historical and aesthetic significance.

Medium
Etchings
Dimensions
sheet: 24.8 x 19.2 cm
Year
1927
Edition
of 350
Signed
Hand-signed by the artist
Seen at
Sylvan Cole Gallery, United States

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Collected by

Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris