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A signed etching by French artist Auguste Brouet (1872–1941), depicting a lively figural scene at Billancourt, with families, seated figures, children, animals, trees, and modest buildings set against a distant urban skyline. The composition is richly worked, combining delicate linework with deeper passages of shadow and drypoint-like texture.
Brouet was known for scenes of everyday life, often focusing on workers, families, street figures, and people living at the margins of urban society. This etching has the intimate observational quality associated with his work: crowded but carefully composed, sympathetic without becoming sentimental, and full of small human details that reward close looking.
The work is pencil signed and numbered 22/100. The lower right corner bears a circular HSK / Librairie Estampes stamp, and the paper carries a visible “Van Gel” watermark. The reverse includes older gallery or dealer labels, including one identifying the work as Billancourt by Auguste Brouet. Presented framed and matted.
A handsome and atmospheric piece for a collector of French prints, urban figural scenes, early 20th-century etching, or works with that “beautifully melancholic Parisian poverty but make it decorative” quality.
Please review all photographs closely, as they form part of the description.
Approximate Measurements
Visible Image/Window: 9.25\" high x 8.5\" wide
Frame: 14.5\" high x 17.5\" wide
Object Details
Artist: Auguste Brouet
Dates: 1872–1941
Title: Billancourt
Medium: Etching on paper
Edition: Numbered 22/100
Signature: Signed in pencil
Stamp: Circular HSK / Librairie Estampes stamp at lower right
Watermark: “Van Gel” watermark
Presentation: Framed and matted
Backing: Older backing with labels and handwritten inscriptions
Subject: Families, children, workers, modest buildings, urban outskirts
Style/Period: Early 20th-century French etching / social realist figural scene
Condition Description
Framed and matted antique etching with visible age and condition issues. The print is taped to the mat along the top edge and is not laid down. The reverse is stamped “Made in France.” The sheet is heavily discolored from contact with the cardboard backer, with overall toning, scattered foxing, and light handling creases. The lower right corner bears a circular HSK / Librairie Estampes stamp. The paper has a visible “Van Gel” watermark.
The frame, mat, and backing show age-related wear, discoloration, staining, tape residue, and handling marks. The older backing includes attached labels and handwritten identification. The work presents well overall, but condition issues are visible and should be reviewed carefully in the photographs.
Please review all photographs closely, as they form part of the condition description. Sold as found and as shown.
