Unique impression
Although remarques were used from the 18th century onwards to test etching plates, they also began to appear in the second half of the 19th century on lithographs and even posters. In this instance, they simply served as a playful signature – a personal touch by the printmaker. By varying the remarques for each edition, meanwhile, artists responded to collectors’ obsession with unique impressions.
Eugène Grasset, Salon des Cent, 1894
Félicien Rops, Woman Gathering Firewood (La ramasseuse de fagots), 1895
Félix Buhot
Félix Buhot (1847-1898) took the decoration of his prints a step further. Drawing inspiration from Japanese woodcuts as well as contemporary book illustrations, he embellished his work with narrative remarques, which grew into a complete framing device for the first print. In some cases – L’hiver à Paris, for instance – these margin illustrations tie in with the central theme.
Félix Hilaire Buhot, Winter in Paris (L'hiver à Paris) or Snow in Paris (La neige à Paris), 1879
Further reading
Jay McKean Fisher and Colles Baxter, Félix Buhot. Peintre-graveur. Prints, Drawings and Paintings, Baltimore 1983
Antony Griffiths, Prints and Printmaking: An introduction to the history and techniques, London 1980
Fleur Roos Rosa de Carvalho, Prints in Paris 1900: From Elite to the Street, Amsterdam 2017