Heinrich GUTTENBERG (1749-1818), Meeting in the Forest of Bourbon, 1776

Etching, handmade paper, 41.5 x 29 cm, good condition.
Unique proof without inscriptions and signatures, so called "avant la lettre". They were made a few or a dozen for the author to check the quality of the work and for a few possible authors, whose name would appear under the engraving. Since work on an etching takes many months, in the meantime a magnate or rich merchant was sought to sponsor the edition and in return would be immortalized under the illustration in the form of a dedication. The work was created according to a painting by Jean Michel Moreau (1741-1814) - "La recontre au bois de Boulogne". This print became very popular at the end of the 19th century and began to sell reproductions of it, which continues to this day because it is offered by many companies in the World. One piece has the Museum of Paris History. A beautiful example of a proof print from the 18th century.