Edgard Tytgat - Le petit chaperon rouge - 1917

Edgard Tytgat (1879–1957) – Little Red Riding Hood (1917) An exceptionally rare and atmospheric artist’s book by the Belgian artist Edgard Tytgat, inspired by the classic fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood. This special edition, published in a print run of only 15 copies, contains 16 original colored wood engravings in which Tytgat expresses his characteristic naive and poetic visual language. This copy, number 12, is signed in the colophon and constitutes a particularly collectible object at the crossroads of book art and original graphic art. The edition comprises 16 color-engraved woodcuts by Edgard Tytgat (1879-1957), who also engraved the text and had the work printed in 1917 on his press in London. This large-format edition, printed in a very small run, is the first issued by the painter: between 1917 and 1921 he repeatedly reissued it, in a smaller format. Condition: Fair condition, with significant browning and light water stains, also in the margins. Despite these flaws, an interesting and rare edition for collectors of book art and original graphics. Complete and in its original condition with the cover. The paper is untrimmed. The famous work has the following references: - Christie’s, London, 2018 – Little Red Riding Hood, 1917. Auction catalog of a copy from the same first edition, number 11, signed by Tytgat. (Description: "Très rare édition originale, tirée à 15 exemplaires, du célèbre conte de Perrault illustré par d’Edgard Tijtgat. Exilé à Londres durant la Première Guerre mondiale, l’artiste belge réalise un premier tirage confid entiel à 15 exemplaires de cette suite dans l'atelier anglais qu’il a aménagé lui-même. Tijtgat a pensé cet ouvrage sous tous ses aspects : en plus de concevoir la mise en image, il a dessiné les caractères mobiles en bois et a travaillé sur sa propre presse. Les gravures et caractères nécessaires à l’impression du texte sont taillés dans le même buis créant une harmonie entre le texte et ses planches. L’univers folklorique et l’imaginaire populaire sont l’une des inspirations principales de l’artiste. Connu pour ses talents d’illustrateur, Tijtgat se qualifie lui-même d’ « imagier » et travaille de manière artisanale notamment autour des contes et de l’enfance. Plusieurs éditions reprenant ces illustrations paraissent après-guerre. Cette édition originale ne figure pas dans les collections de la BnF.") - Carine Picaud & Olivier Piffault, Tales of Fairy Tales in Images. Between Fear and Enchantment. Paris: La Martinière, 2012, p. 39. Discusses the different editions of Tytgat’s Little Red Riding Hood, including the first 15-copy edition from 1917. - Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), Little Red Riding Hood. Facsimile edition, published in 2015, with an introduction about the book and the illustrations. A useful background source. - In his Dictionnaire amoureux de la Belgique, Jean-Baptiste Baronian extols his compatriot and his "palette of delights." - Bibliothèque nationale de France, Éloge de la rareté, no. 67, about Le Lendemain de la Saint-Nicolas, 1913: “Painter, printmaker, engraver, typographer, but also storyteller: Edgar Tytgat is a versatile Belgian artist, known for his illustration of Red Riding Hood, which he tinkered with continually between 1917 and 1921.” - Taillaert, E. Tytgat, catalogue raisonné of the engravings, no. 28.

Estimate:£10,051.07

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