CHARLES MERYON
1821-1868

A Catalogue Raisonné of the Prints of Charles Meryon
by Dr Richard S. Schneiderman with the assistance of Frank Raysor II
1990
ISBN 0 906030 23 4
216 pages; 196 illustrations; concordance, index, bibliography
Page size: 310 x 245 mm; 12¼ x 9¾ inches
Colour dustjacket; blue buckram, gold-blocked spine.
£125

The New Catalogue Raisonné

The etched work of Charles Meryon stands as a unique and original force in the history of printmaking. Meryon was an artist often living on the edge of sanity and someone who ultimately starved himself to death in a mental institution. His strange haunting views of Paris have no obvious precedent but were to influence the generations of printmakers which followed him. This is all the more remarkable when one considers that his enormous reputation rests on only a dozen or so prints by which he is universally known.

Schneiderman began the book as a project to update the 1924 Delteil & Wright catalogue and to incorporate Wright's own extensive annotations and corrections which were made after its publication. While doing this he came to the conclusion that chronological ordering, rather than the hitherto accepted subject ordering, was the only viable way to follow the workings of Meryon's mind. It is in this historical perspective that the catalogue has been written.

Richard Schneiderman's extensive research covered all the major institutions and private collections known to contain Meryon's work. The 103 etchings are listed with each entry detailing the print's title, all known derivations, references to earlier catalogues, medium, size and the fate of the etching plate. Institutionally held examples of each plate are listed. This is followed by a brief discussion of the subject of the print and any controversies surrounding it. The author also cites relevant comments from Burty's Catalogue and any response by Meryon taken from Mes Observations and his letters.

To be published in Autumn 1999
CHARLES MERYON: A BIOGRAPHY
By Roger Collins

Please advise us if you would like a prospectus in due course.