Jean Louis Forain

Maison Close

Jean Louis Forain's original etching, "Maison Close" was one of six etchings commissioned for the book, Croquis Parisiens, by J. K. Huysmans. For some unknown reason two of Forain's etchings (including Maison Close) were refused. In this scene Forain depicts two woman and a man sitting at a table having a conversation at a house of ill repute, (maison close). One can only suppose that the publishers found the subject matter too risky. Only a small handful of impressions were thus struck from the plate during Forain's lifetime. Sometime in the 1940's, however, M. G. Pellet acquired the plate and printed a small edition, the exact size of which is not known. This original impression of Maison Close is from the Pellet edition.

Maison Close (House of ill Repute) Original Etching by the French artist, Jean Louis Forain

View more information for other original works of art by Jean Louis Forain.

Jean-Louis Forain (Reims, 1852 - Paris, 1931)
#	Title & Artist	Medium	Date	Notes	-
01-	A Bullier (Two young women on their way to the Bal Bullier, a dance hall) by Jean Louis Forain	Original Etching & Drypoint Engraving	c. 1880 - 1890	Signed in the plate by Jean Louis Forain.	Sold
02.-	A Mayence "- Est - ce vous fiendrez demain - Oui, pendant 30 ans" (First World War) by Jean Louis Forain	Original Transfer Lithograph	1918	Signed and dated in the stone by Jean Louis Forain, numbered 84/300.	Sold
03.-	Danseuses Dans Leur Loge (Dancers in Their Dressing Room) by Jean Louis Forain	Original Etching & Drypoint	c. 1876 (M. G. Pellet Edition of 1912 )	Signed in the plate by Jean-Louis Forain Catalogue # 7, First and Only State, as Published in Pellet's limited edition of 25 in 1912.	Sold
04.-	Les Folies Bergere (A passing group of beautiful young dancers at the Folies Bergere) by Jean Louis Forain	Original Etching	1880	Signed in the plate by Jean Louis Forain. Catalogue # 18, First and Only State. Limited edition of five hundred and forty five impressions.	Sold
05.-	Le Bouquet (A Gentleman buying a Bouquet) by Jean Louis Forain	Original Etching	1876 (Pellet Edition: Early 20th Century)	Catalogue # 6, First and Only State	Available
06.-	Maison Close (Two woman and a man sitting at a table at a house of ill repute) by Jean Louis Forain	Original Etching	1880 (Pellet Edition: c. 1945)	Catalogue #22, First and Only State	Sold

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Title:	Maison Close
Artist:	Forain, Jean Louis (Reims, 1852 - Paris, 1931)
Date:	1880 (Pellet Edition: c. 1945)
Medium:	Original Etching
Printer:	M. G. Pellet, Paris
Note:	Jean-Louis Forain: One of France's greatest artists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Jean-Louis Forain was equally accomplished as a painter, watercolourist, lithographer and as an etcher. Forain's accomplishments as an original etcher may be classified into two eras; the early period (1875 - 1890), in which he created thirty etchings or drypoints, and the later period (1902 - 1923), in which he produced one hundred and forty-five etchings. Because Maison Close was created in 1880 we shall confine ourselves to his important, early years.
	In 1876 Forain was a young member of an artistic group that frequently met at the Cafe de la Nouvelle Athenes at the Place Pigalle, Paris. Other members and associates included such artists as Manet, Degas, Renoir, Sisley, Pissarro and sometimes Monet and Cezanne. Cezanne showed great interest in Forain's early work and kept a number of the young artist's illustrations pinned to the wall of his studio. The most important friendship formed in this period of Forain's career, however, was with Edgar Degas ((1834 - 1917). The two artists worked together on many occasions at this time, painting and drawing dancers, nudes and scenes from Parisian theaters and cafes.
	In terms of outlook and subject matter there is little doubt that Degas influenced Forain, as one can see in some of his early etchings such as, Maison Close. Yet even at this point there are strong differences in both temperament and approach between the two artists: "Degas was interested in fugitive appearances, movement and the purity of line, while Forain concentrated more on character, revealing gestures, social situations and the expressions of his subjects." * Thus much of the mastery of Maison Close is created by the revealing emotions of the two prostitutes (Maison Close was a bordello) contrasted with the figure of the waiting customer to the right.
Edition:	Maison Close was one of six original Forain etchings commissioned for the book, Croquis Parisiens, by J. K. Huysmans. For some unknown reason two of Forain's etchings (including Maison Close) were refused. One can only suppose that the publishers found the subject matter too risky. Published in Paris in 1880, the book also contained several original etchings by Raffaelli. Only a small handful of impressions were thus struck from the plate during Forain's lifetime. Sometime in the 1940's, however, M. G. Pellet acquired the plate and printed a small edition, the exact size of which is not known. This original impression of Maison Close is from the Pellet edition.
Raisonne:	* Alicia Craig Faxon, Jean-Louis Forain: A Catalogue Raisonne of the Prints, New York, Garland Publishing Inc., 1982.
	Catalogue #22, First and Only State.
Source:	Croquis Parisiens (Rejected Plate)
Size:	3 3/4 X 5 7/8 (Sizes in inches are approximate, height preceding width of plate-mark or image.)
	Matted with 100% Archival Materials
Condition:	Printed upon sturdy Japon paper and with wide full margins as published in Paris by Pellet around 1945. A finely printed impression and in excellent condition throughout. Maison Close stands as a premier example of the famous etched art of Jean-Louis Forain.
Price:	Sold - The price is no longer available.
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