L'Eau Noir - Allaman

 

Robert Hainard

  1906 - 1999 (biography)

1941  

color woodcut 

5 1/4 x 6 1/2" image 

pencil signed lower left margin and again in India ink in lower right image 

44 of 62  

ink titled, dated "31 Mai 1941", and pencil editioned, lower right corner 

 

fine, antique-white laid 

published 

artist 

20140 

SOLD

What appears to be a pastel drawing is in fact an expertly executed color woodcut of a European snow vole, peeking out from the brush along the L'Eau Noir river in Allaman, Swizterland. Hainard was particularly noted for his unusual technique which produced a texture and softness not usually found in woodcut. Whether he wanted to achieve elegance or coziness, his style made for delightfully intriguing imagery of the natural world.

Snow voles favor rocky crevices, screes, and other burrowing areas that protect them from predators,. They live underground during the snowy winter months. Robert Hainard employs his unique woodcut technique, appearing textured like an oil pastel, to capture the secretive world of the little alpine rodent.