Louis Icart

Available for sale from Big Sky Fine Art in the English county of Dorset, this hand coloured etching, published by L’ Estampe Moderne is by the French artist Louis Icart and dates from around 1920. <br> The etching is presented and supplied in a glazed wooden frame from between the wars (which is shown in these photographs). The previous owner has hand-painted the slip.<br> This antique etching is in good condition. In an undisturbed condition since between the wars it is supplied ready to hang and display.<br> The etching is signed lower right. The publisher’s embossed stamp is lower left along with its edition number.<br> <br> Louis Icart was born in Toulouse, France, the first son of Jean and Elisabeth Icart. His full name was Louis Justin Laurant Icart. The family lived modestly in a small brick house on Rue Traversière-de-la-balance. Toulouse was a culturally rich city and home to many prominent artists and writers. This proved to be a source of inspiration and encouragement for young Louis. His education was initially geared towards his father’s profession of banking, and he studied for a career in business at the ‘Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Toulouse. However, Louis discovered the plays of Victor Hugo, which he studied endlessly and this obsession with the world of theatre was to spark his love of the wider arts, first acting and then painting.<br> In 1907 Icart’s aunt, impressed by his obvious talent, moved him to Paris. This coincided with the end of Le Belle Epoque era and the beginning of Picasso’s Cubist revolution. Once in Paris, Icart began to produce frivolous postcards with copies of existing images. Then, as he began seriously studying painting, drawing and printmaking, he started to design his own works. The many beautiful etchings he produced in these early years alone serve to preserve his name in twentieth century art history. <br> <br> Icart served in the Great War of 1914-18 as a fighter pilot. During this time he made countless sketches and etchings with patriotic themes. On his return he made prints of his works, often publishing two versions, one for the European market and another for the American market.<br> <br> By the early 1920s, when Art Deco had taken hold of the Parisian art scene, Icart’s images of women – glamorous, sensuous and often imbued with a sense of humour – reached their height of brilliance. His images captured the modern fervour for female youth yet also retained classic lines and the form of the eighteenth-century masters that he had studied. He worked at this time for several publications and major fashion and design studios and he became successful, both artistically and financially. He showed his works at the Salon des Humoristes and was in great demand. Icart then learned the technique of copperplate engraving and from then on worked with this process. His works echoed the age of Impressionism but also stayed true to his own artistic style. His work emphasised the coquettish, playful and expressive forms of female beauty and by the end of the 1920s had surged in popularity. He moved for a while to New York City, where he became known for his Art-Deco colour etchings of glamorous women. His images of Paris and New York in the 1920s and 30s documented the life he saw around him and became symbols of the epoch.<br> <br> Icart had had a passionless first marriage. He then had a long love affair, and eventual marriage with the artist Fanny Volmers, who he met when she was just 18. She became the model for many of his works and became a source of artistic inspiration for the rest of his life. <br> <br> In 1930 his success enabled him to buy a magnificent house on the Montmarte hill in the north of Paris. During the Second World War Icart used his talents for more serious issues and created a series of works that documented the horrors of the occupation of France in World War II. He had to flee Paris and leave behind some of these works, which were only rediscovered in the attic of a Paris art academy in the 1970s. <br> Through the changing tides of politics and the art market Icart remained stylistically independent, always living and working with humour and grace. Icart died in his Parisan home in 1950.<br> <br> © Big Sky Fine Art<br> <br> This elegant hand-coloured etching by the celebrated French artist Louis Icart captures the charm, intimacy and theatrical grace that made Icart one of the most sought-after printmakers of the early twentieth century. Dating from around 1920, the composition exemplifies the refined sensuality and playful narrative typical of the Art Deco era.<br> <br> The composition portrays two young women reclining in tall, wind-swept grasses, their pale flowing gowns merging softly with the fluid lines of the landscape. Their expressions suggest surprise or sudden distraction, as a hare bolts dynamically across the foreground. The elongated ears, powerful hind legs and stretched movement of the animal clearly identify it as a hare rather than a rabbit, adding energy and narrative tension to the scene. This interplay between startled figures and fleeing animal enhances the theatrical charm for which Icart is celebrated.<br> <br> Executed in fine etching with delicate hand-colouring in warm sepia and golden tones, the work demonstrates Icart’s mastery of line, atmosphere and feminine elegance. The subtle palette and fluid draughtsmanship are characteristic of his early 1920s output, when his reputation in Paris and internationally was at its height.<br> <br> Published by L’Estampe Moderne, this etching carries the publisher’s blindstamp seal in the lower left corner along with its edition number, confirming its authenticity and limited edition status. Works issued by L’Estampe Moderne are particularly desirable, reflecting the high production standards and prestige associated with Parisian print publishing in the early 20th century.<br> <br> A fine example of French Art Deco and late Belle Époque printmaking, this Louis Icart hand-coloured etching would make a distinguished addition to any collection of early twentieth-century French art, vintage Parisian prints, decorative Art Deco interiors, or collectible limited-edition etchings.