Pierre Dubreuil

oil print, the photographer's monogram on the image, mounted, titled in pencil on the mount, signed 'P. Dubreuil, M. L. S. P.,' inscribed with the photographer's '28 Rue de Locht / Bruxelles' address, titled in English 'Mightiness,' and annotated 'N° 15 - Propriété de G-GHEUDE— President de l'A. B. P. C. — Bruxelles' in ink and dated in pencil, and with the photographer's red 'DB 69' stamp on the reverse, 1909

Collection of Tom Jacobson, San Diego, California

Christie's New York, 20 April 1994, Sale 7864, Lot 13

Galerie zur Stockeregg, Zurich

Christie's New York, Twenty Years: Celebrating Galerie zur Stockeregg, Zurich, 4 October 1999, Sale 9306, Lot 11, Lee Marks Fine Art as agent 

Buffalo, Albright Gallery, International Exhibition of Pictorial Photography, 1910

London, The Royal Photographic Society, Pierre Dubreuil, 1935

Los Angeles, 21st Annual International Salon of Pictorial Photography, 1938

Paris, Musée d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Pierre Dubreuil Photographs 1896-1935, 1987

San Diego, The Museum of Photographic Arts, Pierre Dubreuil Rediscovered, 1988, and traveling thereafter to The Detroit Institute of the Arts, 1990

Santa Fe, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of New Mexico, Proto Modern Photography, 1992

This print:

Pierre Dubreuil, Photographs 1896-1935 (San Diego, 1987, in conjunction with the exhibition at the Musée d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou), pl. 9 and p. 17, fig. 5

Proto Modern Photography (Santa Fe, 1992, in conjunction with the exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of New Mexico), unpaginated

This impressive neutral-toned oil print is in generally excellent condition. Upon very close examination, the edges of the print appear ever-so-slightly rubbed and the lower corners are bumped. The photograph is on a textured paper mount with deckled edges, which is somewhat yellowed and age-darkened. There is a tack-hole and minor glue-staining along the upper edge of the mount. On the reverse of the mount, 'Les Roses,' 'No 61,' and 'No 50' are written in ink and crossed out. Also on the reverse, '153 / 317' are written in an unidentified hand in crayon and crossed out in pencil. The reverse is lightly soiled from handling, and there is a strip of yellowed adhesive along the upper edge.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The print offered here was one of six Dubreuil photographs selected by Alfred Stieglitz for the ‘Open Section’ of his pioneering 1910 International Exhibition of Pictorial Photography, where it appeared as catalogue number 510.  There titled ‘Steam – Gare du Nord,’ this photograph was exhibited alongside other key images from Dubreuil’s Paris period, including Elephantesia and Notre Dame de Paris.  Dubreuil featured this print of Puissance in at least two other lifetime exhibitions, including his important 1935 retrospective exhibition at the Royal Photographic Society, London. 

Dubreuil was one of the most inventive photographers of his day, a technical master of the medium and brilliant aesthetic innovator.  Like most of his colleagues, Dubreuil had experimented with the full range of processes then available, including platinum, carbon, and gum bichromate.  In 1904, he discovered the Rawlins oil process, which allowed him a great deal of control over the final appearance of his photographs.  Dubreuil quickly mastered this complex process and used it throughout his career.

According to Dubreuil authority Tom Jacobson, the photograph offered here is the only known surviving print of the image.  A print sent to Stieglitz for his personal collection was subsequently lost and has not resurfaced.  Although Dubreuil exhibited widely during his lifetime, there are few of his photographs extant.  Concerned for the safety of his life’s work, and experiencing financial difficulties on the eve of the second World War, Dubreuil sold his negatives and many of his prints to the Gevaert photographic company in Belgium.  When the factory was bombed during the war, most of Dubreuil’s oeuvre was destroyed.