The Fantastical World of Érik Desmazières

September 10, 2009 to January 3, 2010

Presented from September 10, 2009, to January 3, 2010, the inaugural exhibition at the Museum’s new Graphic Arts Centre, The Fantastical World of Érik Desmazières, is Canada’s first retrospective of the prints of one of the most fascinating and distinguished contemporary printmakers, the French artist Érik Desmazières. Approximately fifty prints are exhibited in the galleries covering the breadth of his achievements, from his earliest prints, such as The Astronomers of 1972, to his most recent work, Rembrandt’s Kunstkammer of 2007.

Born in Rabat, Morocco, in 1948, Desmazières studied in Paris at the Institut d’Études Politiques. After he graduated in 1971, he took evening classes in printmaking given by the city of Paris. There, he found his calling in intaglio prints, especially etching on copper, in which he found discipline for his drawing and great precision in defining forms. His corollary use of pen drawings to work out his compositions encouraged his study of Old Master drawings. From childhood, Desmazières had been attracted to the world of fantasy, but he was also profoundly influenced by a fascination with architecture and an appreciation of a remarkable range of great printmakers of the past who specialized in the intaglio method. Throughout his career, he has been influenced by Piranesi and Callot, whose Temptation of Saint Anthony inspired him to create a large print in etching, aquatint and roulette in 1993, but he also turned to such diverse sources as Marcantonio Raimondi, the French sixteenth-century School of Fontainebleau, Goya, Martin, Meryon, Doré and Dutch still lifes. Photography and film have inspired his manipulations of perspective and the privileged viewpoints in his compositions. His subjects range from studies of shellfish, gourds, old books and heads to fantastical creatures and monumental imagined architectural exteriors and interiors like his celebrated series “Parisian Arcades” and René Tazé’s Studio (ill. 5), which depicts a monumental etching press.

Exhibited around the world, his works are housed in the collections of many of the greatest international art museums, including the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum.

Hilliard T. Goldfarb, Associate chief Curator and Curator of Old Masters, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, is in charge of the presentation of The Fantastical World of Érik Desmazières

 

 

Self-portrait, 1976, Etching, 38 x 28.5 cm (sheet), Freda and Irwin Browns Collection, FF 20, © Érik Desmazières / SODRAC (2009), Photo MMFA