Maxime Lalanne

François Antoine Maxime Lalanne (November 27, 1827 – July 29, 1886) was a French artist known for his etchings and charcoal drawings (fusain).

[2] Maxime Lalanne first pursued classical and traditional studies at the l'institution Oré,[3] where he learned drawing from Saulnier.

In 1850, he exhibited six drawings (pencils and pastels) at the eighth Exposition of the Philomathique Society in the Palais de Justice.

[10] Shortly thereafter, Lalanne vacationed in Cénon and returned to Bordeaux with dozens of charcoal drawings of the countryside which, Marionneau reported, were remarkable.

[12] Lalanne's ties to Bordeaux remained strong: he exhibited 640 works there in a retrospective in 1874 and donated proofs of all his etchings to the city in 1875 and 1882.

[24] He was also knighted as Chevalier of the Order of Christ by King Fernando of Portugal[25] (who, perhaps not surprisingly, was one of the 160 members of Cadart's Société des Aquafortistes).

[27] It was because of this loyalty (and the resulting friendships) that Lalanne continued to be a member of the jury of the Salon, for painting, even (according to Marionneau) after illness prevented his full participation.

[36] Lalanne taught and demonstrated almost every conceivable technique applicable to the etching plate, but in his own work he remained an almost steadfast adherent to pure line.

[40] He accomplished that result through multi-stage biting: a continuing process that created, through line variance, every atmospheric element he desired.

Subjecting plates to numerous progressive bitings, Lalanne achieved a warmth, depth and dimensionality never before seen in etching, and rarely seen since, as a review of some of his work demonstrates.

Through multi-stage biting, À Bordeaux[41] drives the viewer from the dark and rich boat and boathouse in the foreground through the harbor to the distant town in a near infinite visual horizon.

In Une Rue de Rouen,[43] the dominance of the cathedral in the background is established not through bold line but through scant biting.

Using realistic elements as a vehicle, Lalanne's etchings organize the visual field into a new order of unrelenting harmony, consistent with the subject, that fosters access to the image whose sense of place inspired the work.

One of these etchings, Jardin avec statue au bord d’une piêce d’eau,[53] is among the best in Lalanne's entire oeuvre.