‘Martyre de Saint Denis’ by Léon Bonnat (1833-1922) etching on paper after his own work, printed by A. Clément in Paris. Edited in 1885 in Gazette des Beaux-Arts and printed on laid 19th century paper, a vage watermark is visible. The martyrdom of Saint Denis was painted by Bonnat around 1880 and presented at the Salon of 1885 in Paris. Bonnat was a famous painter, Grand Officer of the Légion d’honneur and professor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in France and he won several important prices with his paintings. Bonnat died on 8 September 1922 and was buried at the Cimitiére Saint-Etienne in Bayonne.

‘Etching’

Etching is considered the most important technique for producing prints by old masters. It is a very traditional process discovered by Daniel Hopfer (1470 – 1536) in Germany. Daniel Hopfer already used the etching technique on combat clothing before applying it to make a print. A strong acid or pickling agent is used to cut metal surfaces (usually copper, zinc or steel). The metal plate is covered with a waxy soil which is resistant to acid. The artist then scratches his or her design into the metal with different types of etching needles. After a bath of acid or pickling agent, the scratched metal undergoes a redox reaction, leaving the drawing in the wax on the plate. Ink is poured over the plate and wiped off again to fill in the scratched areas. By then pressing the plate in paper, an etching is created.