Charles Leandre - Noël - Lithograph

Charles LEANDRE (1862-1934)
Noël
1897
Lithograph
30.6×40.2 cm
Signed lower right in the plate "C. Léandre/97"
Dry stamp of L'Estampe moderne lower right in the margin

This lithograph in colors entitled Noël by Charles Léandre was published in August 1897 in the fourth issue of the artistic monthly L'Estampe moderne. With its 24 issues published between May 1897 and April 1899, L'Estampe moderne aimed to make the art of printmaking accessible to everyone. Executed by the main artist-engravers of the time, the 100 published plates, lithographs for the vast majority, were original and unpublished creations. They were accompanied by a serpente, indicating the name of the author and the title of the work with sometimes an extract from a poem or literary text in relation.

In the case of this lithograph, the text of the serpente gives details of the scene depicted, villagers going to church to attend Christmas mass and walking through the snowy countryside. Three characters stand out in the foreground: an old vagrant with a body bent by the weight of the years, an elderly woman in mourning with a closed face and a young boy whose beatific smile clashes and seems to express all the magic and the hope that Christmas can offer.

The lithograph is sold framed.