Whilst looking through the work of Jorge Luis Borges, I came across Erik Desmazieres, an artist who's work particularly focuses on imaginary architecture using the styles and techniques of etching. "Erik Desmazières was born in Rabbat, Morocco, son of a French diplomat. He spent his childhood in Morcco, Portugal, and France. Desmazières studied at the Institute d’Etudes Politiqoue, political science and took an evening art course at the Cours du Soir de la Ville. After graduation he decided to pursue a career as an artist." "Considered to be one of the finest printmakers of his generation, Desmazières was strongly influenced by artists such as Giovanni Piranesi and Jacques Callot. Erik Desmazières work is represented by galleries in Europe, the United States, and Japan and is collected by important museums worldwide." Artworks:
Very interesting drawings and methodology, which we are going to go into further, below. Erik Desmazières is considered one of the best contemporary printmakers, the following was taken from fitch-febvrel where the process of etching is explained: "In etching, the artist covers a metal plate (usually copper) with a resinous substance (or "ground") that is acid-resistant. The artist then "draws" on the ground with a sharp needle. Wherever the needle is applied the ground is removed, so that in an acid bath those exposed lines are eaten away, or etched. The plate is then inked and wiped, leaving ink in the grooves created by the acid. When the plate is placed on damp paper and put through the printing press, the paper is forced into the inked grooves. For each print in an edition, the plate must be re-inked and wiped." As well as these ink engravings, there are some of Desmazières' pencil drawings, one of the subjects explored, is the Library of Babel. For you out there who love books and libraries, you are going to be very pleased with this post. Labyrinth II. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Archives du Nord. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Library of Babel 1. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Library of Babel 2. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Library of Babel 3. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Library of Babel 4. Press the Image to Enlarge it. L'Oiseau de Minerve. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Dans l’atelier. Press the Image to Enlarge it. La Rue Charles Nodier. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Miscellanea Bibliographica. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Le Bureau de Maxime. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Le Magasin de Robert Capia. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Paris, 11 boulevard de Clichy. Press the Image to Enlarge it.
About This is impression #17 out of 90. Part of a real estate project by the Banque Mallet frères et Cie, the Passage Choiseul was inaugurated in 1827. The architect François Mazois, who had been in charge of the design, died before he could finish it. His colleague Antoine Tavernier finished the construction according to the original design. A current color photo of site is in the image collection. With its length of 190 meters, this rather sober gallery with its monochrome tiled floor was one of the longest passages in Paris. It was a lively and popular place. Some famous names in literature, such as French novelist Céline, lived or worked in Passage Choiseul. Composer Jacques Offenbach opened his Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens in 1855 right next to the gallery. And since the foyer of the theatre was rather small, the attending ladies in their voluminous crinolines were often spotted in Passage Choiseul. Nowadays, Passage Choiseul houses a mix of art galleries, fashion stores, shoe outlets, jewelry shops as well as some eateries.
Whilst looking through the work of Jorge Luis Borges, I came across Erik Desmazieres, an artist who's work particularly focuses on imaginary architecture using the styles and techniques of etching. "Erik Desmazières was born in Rabbat, Morocco, son of a French diplomat. He spent his childhood in Morcco, Portugal, and France. Desmazières studied at the Institute d’Etudes Politiqoue, political science and took an evening art course at the Cours du Soir de la Ville. After graduation he decided to pursue a career as an artist." "Considered to be one of the finest printmakers of his generation, Desmazières was strongly influenced by artists such as Giovanni Piranesi and Jacques Callot. Erik Desmazières work is represented by galleries in Europe, the United States, and Japan and is collected by important museums worldwide." Artworks:
Whilst looking through the work of Jorge Luis Borges, I came across Erik Desmazieres, an artist who's work particularly focuses on imaginary architecture using the styles and techniques of etching. "Erik Desmazières was born in Rabbat, Morocco, son of a French diplomat. He spent his childhood in Morcco, Portugal, and France. Desmazières studied at the Institute d’Etudes Politiqoue, political science and took an evening art course at the Cours du Soir de la Ville. After graduation he decided to pursue a career as an artist." "Considered to be one of the finest printmakers of his generation, Desmazières was strongly influenced by artists such as Giovanni Piranesi and Jacques Callot. Erik Desmazières work is represented by galleries in Europe, the United States, and Japan and is collected by important museums worldwide." Artworks:
Erik Desmazières
Erik Desmazières, Passage choiseul, 1990
Very interesting drawings and methodology, which we are going to go into further, below. Erik Desmazières is considered one of the best contemporary printmakers, the following was taken from fitch-febvrel where the process of etching is explained: "In etching, the artist covers a metal plate (usually copper) with a resinous substance (or "ground") that is acid-resistant. The artist then "draws" on the ground with a sharp needle. Wherever the needle is applied the ground is removed, so that in an acid bath those exposed lines are eaten away, or etched. The plate is then inked and wiped, leaving ink in the grooves created by the acid. When the plate is placed on damp paper and put through the printing press, the paper is forced into the inked grooves. For each print in an edition, the plate must be re-inked and wiped." As well as these ink engravings, there are some of Desmazières' pencil drawings, one of the subjects explored, is the Library of Babel. For you out there who love books and libraries, you are going to be very pleased with this post. Labyrinth II. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Archives du Nord. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Library of Babel 1. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Library of Babel 2. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Library of Babel 3. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Library of Babel 4. Press the Image to Enlarge it. L'Oiseau de Minerve. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Dans l’atelier. Press the Image to Enlarge it. La Rue Charles Nodier. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Miscellanea Bibliographica. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Le Bureau de Maxime. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Le Magasin de Robert Capia. Press the Image to Enlarge it. Paris, 11 boulevard de Clichy. Press the Image to Enlarge it.
Erik Desmazieres The Wheels 1974 Erik Desmazieres The Ramparts 1972 Erik Desmazieres The Great Battle 1978 Erik Desmazieres The Deserted Fortress 1979 Five years ago while visiting the Rembrandt House in Amsterdam I came across a book in the book store featuring the art work of Erik Desmazieres. The incredible drawings and prints of this artist had up until this point been unknown to me. I was blown away at what I saw, and his work continues to amaze, inform , and inspire me in present times. Erik Desmazieres (b.1948) is a printmaker and his work has been associated with that of the Art Fantastique Visionnaire School, whose artists find their work heavily influenced by Bresdin, Piranesi, Callot, and Durer. The work of Desmezieres can certainly be compared with that of Dutch Artist Maurits Escher (1898-1972) , as both artists had an amazing knowledge of perspective, and an ability to distort it. Although there are many similarities between Escher's and Desmazieres work I believe that there is also a large fundamental difference in the imaginative architectural superstructures in which they created. In contrast unlike that of the work of Escher , Desmazieres's prints have a much more believable sense of atmosphere. Desmezieres's sense of light, control of values, and his realistic rendering ability makes it possible for him to create convincing environments that the viewer can believably enter. Much of the artists early work such as,Wheels, and the Ramparts are direct reproductions of pre existing drawings. Desmazieres transfered these insanely tight drawings directly onto the printing plate.The finished prints were almost identical to that of the preliminary drawing, not fully utilizing the print medium and all of its beautiful possibilities for spontaneous results. In later years Desmazieres approached the printing procedure in a much more spontaneous manner. Rather than creating a fully realized drawing and transferring it onto his plate, he created much more simple sketches in which the finished drawing upon the printing plate was based upon. In the Great Battle , Desmazieres started with nothing more than a few rough drawings indicating the placement and shape of the robotic battle machines, the rest was done directly upon the printing plate in a more improvisational manner. The Deserted Fortress is another favorite of mine.In addition to these imaginative images , the book that I own on his work also includes a lot of the artists other work. The book titled Desmazieres includes still life work , commissions, and landscapes, all are pretty remarkable. If you are not familiar with this artist you should google him and have a look at some more of his work, or buy the book if you can find it. You will not be disappointed!
La Salle des planetes, by Erik Desmazieres, for “The Library of Babel” by Jorge Luis Borges
La Place Désertée (1979). Yet another French artist specialising in etchings with a focus on imaginary architecture. No dedicated website, unfortunately, so I’ve posted more images than usual…
The technique of etching has given many a brooding artist a shadowy medium for their art, and while the time-consuming mode of creation has fallen out of mainstream popularity, Moroccan artist Érik Desmazières continues to use etching almost exquisitely in his work.
