Charles Clément Bervic (aka Jean Guillaume Balvay) (17561822) Bervic is one of the elite reproductive engravers (i.e. printmakers that copy other artists works for publication) of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The British Museum advises that his entire oeuvre consists of only fifteen platesa number that is inconsistent with Henri Beraldis list in Les Graveurs du XIXe sièle (1981) that cites nineteen plates. Regardless of the number of plates executed by Bervic, this print may be his finest and it is certainly his most celebrated in terms of reproducing a work of a contemporary painter (Regnault). Indeed, the print was so widely acclaimed at the time that it secured Jean-Baptiste Regnaults election to the Academy in 1783 (see Stephen Banns (2001) account in Parallel Lines [p. 178]). Arguably, the attribute of Bervics skill that sets him apart from many of his fellow engravers is what is termed moëlleus (i.e. softness) as seen here in the subtle modelling of the figures.
Bervic is one of the elite reproductive engravers (i.e. printmakers that copy other artists works for publication) of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The British Museum advises that his entire oeuvre consists of only fifteen platesa number that is inconsistent with Henri Beraldis list in Les Graveurs du XIXe sièle (1981) that cites nineteen plates. Regardless of the number of plates executed by Bervic, this print may be his finest and it is certainly his most celebrated in terms of reproducing a work of a contemporary painter (Regnault). Indeed, the print was so widely acclaimed at the time that it secured Jean-Baptiste Regnaults election to the Academy in 1783 (see Stephen Banns (2001) account in Parallel Lines [p. 178]). Arguably, the attribute of Bervics skill that sets him apart from many of his fellow engravers is what is termed moëlleus (i.e. softness) as seen here in the subtle modelling of the figures. |