James Bertrand sent two large pictures of Ophelia to the Paris Salon in 1872. One was entitled ‘Mort d’Ophelie,’ and the other ‘Folie d’Ophelie.’  In the first, she appears floating on the water, borne up by her clothing, and singing snatches of old tunes.                 

            The ‘Folie d’Ophelie’ is the subject fantastically dressed with straws and flowers. Ophelia’s face is of a fine type of beauty.  So successful is this rendering of the Shakespearean heroine, who loved Hamlet, that some actresses have practically adopted it in their impersonation of Ophelia; and indeed, it is very rare to see Ophelia on the stage without being reminded, in certain respects, of Mr. Bertrand’s admirable portrait.  The pose of the figure is graceful, and its precision of drawing and its poetical expression are praiseworthy. The two Ophelia pictures attracted great attention at the Salon when exhibited.

        James Bertrand was a pupil of Mr. Perin, and was awarded medals at the Exhibitions of 1861, 1863, and 1869.

STEEL ENGRAVING – “OPHELIA” from the painting by James Bertrand, engraved by C.A. Deblois, printed in 1886. This engraving is in very good condition. The engraving measures 10 ¾” x 6 ¾”, and is matted to 12” x 16” for easy framing.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE

Antique prints, etchings, engravings, and lithographs are printing processes, which use steel, copper, stone or wood blocks or plates to produce a picture on paper.

Most antique prints and engravings, which are seen on the internet today, are bookplates.  Because they are pages from a book, there are multiple copies in existence.  This does not, however, mean that they are "reproductions" that have been printed recently.  Because they were, at some point, part of books, some have been preserved in excellent condition, while others show signs of age, as yellow spots or darkness on the edge of the page from being handled.

Engravings, and lithographs are high quality pieces of art, as it took a highly trained artist many hours of work to produce one.  Although there may be multiple copies still in existence, the date of the item should be stated, thus giving the buyer an idea of its age.

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