SCARCE BORIS O'KLEIN (ARTHUR BORIS KLEIN) (RUSSIAN/FRENCH, 1893-1985) 'DIRTY DOGS of PARIS,' EARLY to MID-20TH CENTURY, ANTHROPOMORPHIC, PENCIL SIGNED & INSCRIBED in FRENCH 'COMME NOS MAITRES' (LIKE OUR MASTERS) HAND PAINTED with OPAQUE WATERCOLOR, DRYPOINT ETCHING, ARTIST'S PRINT, featuring UNCUT PAPER MARGINS, STAMPED PRINT IMPRESSED 'BRUISE' AROUND GRAPHIC ICONOGRAPHY of PRINT (with SOME VERY MINOR WATER DAMAGE & STAINING FOUND on the RIGHT MARGINS & WHICH DOESN'T INTRUDE upon the PICTORIAL PLANE or INTERFERE with the IMAGE, UNFRAMED)
[Recently found in a north-central Massachusetts home in the Leominster, MA area. It was found in a large pressed board folio, out of frame, in a chest of drawers in one of the bedrooms.]
(Circa 1934-1940)
Early to mid-20th century French vintage anthropomorphic, hand colored etchings of animals behaving like humans
DIMENSIONS:
8 ¾" Height x 19 ½" Width
DESCRIPTION:
Offered for your review and consideration is this quite famous early to mid 20th century French hand colored drypoint etching by the Russian born, French artist Boris O'Klein (Arthur Boris Klein, 1893-1985) called 'Dirty Dogs of Paris.' This anthropomorphic etching was one from a series of similar prints Boris O'Klein authored and which became quite popular in their day, with dogs in urban attire taking on the behavior and characteristics of their human masters. This anthropomorphic attitude sees a line-up of dogs, big and small, rich and poor, standing in front of a wall and peeing against it, as would men, with streams of urine running back between their legs across the sidewalk and gathering and pooling in the street below the curbing. This bawdy, caustic, socially satirical, almost physical sense of over-the-top humor, of course resonated much differently back then, than perhaps it would do now. The hand colored print is pencil signed by the artist on the lower right and inscribed in French 'Like Our Masters' (Comme Nos Maitres) on the lower left in the print margins, outside of the pictorial plane. The drypoint etching's hand colored with opaque watercolor paint, found within the bodies of some of the dogs. Found out-of-frame. Completely, absolutely terrific.
CONDITION:
Very Good to Excellent overall vintage condition.