Merle d'eau et Glacons (Water Bird and Ice)

 

Robert Hainard

  1906 - 1999 (biography)

1952  

color woodcut 

11 x 14 1/8" image size 

artist's signature in ink in image, lower right; pencil, lower left in margin. 

28 of 50  

pencil editioned; annotated in ink is the name of region and date "Allondon, 29 Janvier, 1952" in image, lower right 

Woodcut no. 216, Obs Allondon 29.1.195; Gr 11.3.1953; Valentina Anker, "Robert Hainard: les estampes, tome 1": 1924-1956, Ed. Xylon, Hauterive, p. 153, no 216. 

ivory Japanese laid 

published 

artist 

23217 

$2,000.00 

Hainard's annotation in the lower right corner of the image includes the name "Allondon," which is a river that begins in Echenevex, France and eventually joins the Rhone at the village of Russin in Geneva, Switzerland. The Allondon and its surroundings were a great source of inspiration for the Swiss artist, whose observation of nature often centered on the smaller flora and fauna of riverbanks.

Here, Hainard's ability to produce a painterly touch within the confines of color woodcut is perfectly demonstrated in this soft portrayal of a songbird perched on a mossy rock, surrounded by ice and tumbling water. He's almost entirely camouflaged in the winter scene with his dark wings and head and snowy-white underbelly.

Robert Hainard was born in Geneva, Switzerland on September 11, 1906. Hainard’s parents, Philip Hainard (1879-1938) and Eugénie Hainard-Bechard (1882-1942), were both painters. At age 12, Robert Hainard left primary school and was homeschooled by his father for his general education; it was around this time that he began to learn to draw.

In 1927 he claimed to have invented a new process of wood engraving and in 1929 he exhibited his first prints in the technique at Geneva Salon. This style, which resembled crayon and graphite drawing and featured extraordinarily delicate texture, lent itself to his preferred subject matter - local flora and fauna - and these became his best known works. In addition to printmaking Hainard worked in oils, watercolors, and sculpture.

An amateur naturalist and philosopher, Hainard was greatly inspired by the wildlands of Geneva which he worked to save from urban sprawl, becoming a member of the Pro Natura Geneva organization, which continues to establish and maintain nature preserves. He would continue to champion Swiss wildlife and land throughout his life, occasionally donating his artwork to fundraisers and obtaining an honorary doctorate in science from the University of Geneva in 1969. He authored several books on the subject of wildlife and illustrated several others.