A rare, pencil-signed impression from Henri Fantin-Latour’s celebrated series of lithographs inspired by Richard Wagner’s “Parsifal.”

Details

Artist: Henri Fantin-Latour (French, 1836–1904)

Title: Évocation de Kundry, première planche

Date: 1883

Medium: Original lithograph in black

Catalogue reference: Hédiard 42; Fantin-Latour 1911, no. 1142

State: Second state, bearing the printed line “Imp. Lemercier & Cie Paris”

Edition: One of 25 impressions printed on Japon fort (strong Japanese paper), according to the Galerie Métier label and the Hédiard catalogue. A further 25 impressions were printed on chine collé, in addition to a small number of trial proofs.

Signature: Pencil signed “H. Fantin” at lower right

Inscription: Faint pencil dedication, apparently reading “À Amand [or Armand] Gautier”

Printer: Lemercier & Cie, Paris

Image dimensions: approximately 36 × 47 cm / 14.2 × 18.5 in

Framed dimensions: approximately 65 × 75 cm / 25.6 × 29.5 in

Presented in a gold-tone frame under glazing. An old Galerie Métier identification label is attached to the reverse.

This is an original nineteenth-century lithograph and not a later reproduction.

Condition

The printed image remains strong and well defined, with rich blacks and attractive lithographic texture.

There is scattered age-related foxing and light toning, particularly in the lower margin. The pencil signature and dedication are faint. The sheet appears to have been trimmed and laid down or attached to a secondary support; it has not been removed from the frame for examination. The frame shows minor age-related rubbing and handling wear.

Reflections visible in the photographs are from the glazing. Please examine all photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the condition description.

Comment

The composition was inspired by Act II of Richard Wagner’s “Parsifal.” The magician Klingsor appears at the left, summoning Kundry, whose luminous nude figure emerges from the surrounding darkness.

Fantin-Latour used the expressive grain of lithographic crayon to transform Wagner’s music and theatrical atmosphere into a visionary image. The contrast between Klingsor’s dense, shadowed form and Kundry’s radiant apparition gives the work a distinctly Symbolist character.

The inscriptions “Klingsor” and “Kundry” appear above the image. The printer’s line identifies this impression as the second and final state described in the Hédiard catalogue.

The dedication appears to refer to Amand or Armand Gautier. A closely corresponding impression with a similar dedication and dimensions was documented in the Antoni–Gautier studio sale held in Ajaccio in December 2021; however, no claim of identical provenance is made unless supporting documentation accompanies the work.