Épinal prints were prints on popular subjects rendered in bright, sharp colors, sold in France in the 19th century. They owe their name to the fact that the first publisher of such images, Jean-Charles Pellerin, who was born in Épinal, named the printing house he founded in 1796 Imagerie d'Épinal.[1]

Old commercial signal pointing to the Imagerie d'Épinal location

The expression "image d'Épinal" has become proverbial in French and refers to a traditionalist and often naïve depiction of something, focusing only on its positive aspects[2]

These prints were frequently used as a point of comparison for criticizing the paintings of Gustave Courbet, notably his Burial at Ornans and Peasants of Flagey returning from the Fair, as well as the works of Édouard Manet. However, Émile Zola turned the comparison into praise when discussing some of Manet's works, such as The Fifer.[3]

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References

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  1. ^ Grella O’Connell, Julia (2023-04-15), "British Wagnerism, George Moore, and Popular Print Culture at the End of the Long Nineteenth Century", Opera and British Print Culture in the Long Nineteenth Century, Liverpool University Press, pp. 211–230, doi:10.3828/liverpool/9781638040422.003.0011, ISBN 978-1-63804-042-2, retrieved 2024-10-08
  2. ^ Thorez, Pierre (2018-10-01), Qui gouverne le monde ?, La Découverte, pp. 187–196, doi:10.3917/dec.badie.2018.01.0187, ISBN 978-2-348-04069-6, retrieved 2024-10-08
  3. ^ Weingarden, Lauren S., ed. (2019-02-01), "Mirroring naturalism in word and image: a critical exchange between Émile Zola and Édouard Manet", Ekphrastic encounters, Manchester University Press, pp. 144–164, doi:10.7228/manchester/9781526125798.003.0008, ISBN 978-1-5261-2579-8, retrieved 2024-10-08
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