Engravings

Engraved interpretation by Emile-Frédéric Nicolle (1830-1894).
Emile-Frédéric Nicolle, grandfather of the famous cubist painter and engraver Jacques Villon (Gaston Duchamp's pseudonym), of whom the Chalcographie has several engraved plates, produced his first etching in his twenty-fourth year. A painter and watercolourist, he was an attentive witness to the changes in his native city of Rouen. Indeed, as a member of the Société des Amis des Arts de Rouen, he drew and engraved the main buildings of Rouen before they disappeared during the redevelopment of the city. He participated in the 1878 Universal Exhibition and several times in the Salons des Artistes Français in Paris with his etchings. In 1883 he was awarded the Palmes Académiques.
His engraved work is divided into two parts. His views of the monuments and streets of Rouen constitute a lyrical testimony of the old city. His landscapes, especially those of Saint-Valéry-en-Caux where he spent his summers, focus on the daily and picturesque activities of this port.
Modern print from the original plate of the Chalcographie du Louvre.