Amand Durand heliogravure of the engraving Virgin and Child Seated by a Tree (1513) by Albrecht Dürer.

Excellent condition. Never matted or framed. Image: 4 5/8 x 2 7/8 in. Sheet: 8 x 5 ½ in.

This heliogravure on wove paper by Charles Amand-Durand (1831-1905) was printed in the 20^th century. It can be verified as an Amand Durand by comparing the minute irregularities of the border line around the image with a 19^th century impression. There is no sign of plate wear as in later impressions of the Rembrandt heliogravures. Amand Durand authority Eric Gillis wrote of some print runs from 1978 to 1982, and I believe this print was among those.

Amand Durand produced his heliogravures after the best early impressions from important collections including those of the Edmond de Rothschild, Eugene Dutuit, Emile Galichon, Lemarié, Firmin-Didot, the British Museum, the Bibliothèque nationale, and the Fitzwilliam Museum. Many collectors preferred Amand Durand’s heliogravures over impressions from original plates that had been worn from repeated printings. Philp Gilbert Hamerton, author of “Etching and Etchers” wrote of Amand Durand’s heliogravures, “They are of the same size as the original etchings which they resemble very closely and are incomparably superior to the poor impressions from the original plates themselves."

The etcher Joseph Pennell wrote, “M. Amand Durand made the best photogravures ever produced because he was an artist. No mere photographic or mechanical engraver ever approached him.” Regarding photogravures, Pennell wrote, “The most interesting work was probably done by Amand Durand whose copies of Rembrandt and Durer printed on old paper were so good that the most serious authorities were deceived by them.”