arrow-down-dottedarrow-down-mediumarrow-left-bigarrow-left-smallarrow-right-bigarrow-right-mediumarrow-right-smallarrow-up-bigarrow-up-mediumcheckbox-checkedcheckboxchevron-down-mediumchevron-down-smallchevron-up-mediumchevron-up-smallclose-bigclosecollectioncompare-sliderdownloadexternal-linkgrid-decreasegrid-increaseinfomenuminus-bigminusmutedon-viewpauseplay-cleanplayplus-bigplus-blackplusrotatescalesearchsetsize-downsize-upunionunmutedzoom
Henry Somm, Invitation to a soirée at the collector Mr Philppe Burty, 1880

Philippe Burty

The French critic and collector Philippe Burty (1830–1890) was a fanatical champion of etching as an art form in its own right. Rejecting the prevailing view at the time that prints were chiefly a means of copying other artworks, he felt that an etching had at least as much artistic value as a painting or drawing.

He wrote countless articles and exhibition reviews in which he stressed the artistic quality of the etching. He was also closely involved in initiatives that sought to revive printmaking, such as the Société des Aquafortistes and the Société des Peintres-Graveurs.

Writing and collecting

Burty devoted a considerable amount of effort and money to assembling a unique collection of prints and Japanese objets d’art, of which the printmaker Félix Buhot immortalised several of the highlights in a series of etchings with the title Japonisme.

Burty did not only collect for his own pleasure: he also invited interested parties to study his collection, and he encouraged artists to stimulate their creativity through the decorative visual idiom of Japanese art.

Félix Hilaire Buhot, Wooden Mask (Masque en bois) from the series Japonisme, 1885

Félix Hilaire Buhot, Wooden Mask (Masque en bois) from the series Japonisme, 1885

Félix Hilaire Buhot, Bronze Toad (Crapaud bronze) from the series Japonisme, 1885

Félix Hilaire Buhot, Bronze Toad (Crapaud bronze) from the series Japonisme, 1885

Pioneer

Burty’s progressive ideas made him a pioneer of the efflorescence of fine-art printmaking that occurred in the 1890s. Although he was not around to experience it himself, his pivotal role was taken over enthusiastically by the critic and collector Roger Marx. Where Burty had primarily championed etching, however, Marx focused on all printmaking techniques.

Edouard Manet, Exotic Flower, Woman with a Mantilla (Fleur exotique, la femme à la mantille), 1869

Edouard Manet, Exotic Flower, Woman with a Mantilla (Fleur exotique, la femme à la mantille), 1869

Further reading
  • Philippe Burty, ‘La belle épreuve’ in L’eau-forte en 1875, Paris, 1875
  • Philippe, Burty, ‘Préface’, Exposition des peintres-graveurs (Galerie Durand-Ruel), Paris, 1889
  • Gabriel P. Weisberg, The independent critic, New York 1993
Discover all French prints