Charles Clément BERVIC France (1756 - 1822)

Charles Clément Bervic (aka Jean Guillaume Balvay) (1756–1822) Bervic is one of the elite reproductive engravers (i.e. printmakers that copy other artists’ works for publication) of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The British Museum advises that his entire oeuvre consists of only fifteen plates—a number that is inconsistent with Henri Beraldi’s list in “Les Graveurs du XIXe sièle (1981) that cites nineteen plates. Regardless of the number of plates executed by Bervic, this print may be his finest and it is certainly his most celebrated in terms of reproducing a work of a contemporary painter (Regnault). Indeed, the print was so widely acclaimed at the time that it “secured Jean-Baptiste Regnault’s election to the Academy in 1783” (see Stephen Bann’s (2001) account in “Parallel Lines” [p. 178]). Arguably, the attribute of Bervic’s skill that sets him apart from many of his fellow engravers is what is termed “moëlleus” (i.e. softness) as seen here in the subtle modelling of the figures. Bervic is one of the elite reproductive engravers (i.e. printmakers that copy other artists’ works for publication) of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The British Museum advises that his entire oeuvre consists of only fifteen plates—a number that is inconsistent with Henri Beraldi’s list in “Les Graveurs du XIXe sièle (1981) that cites nineteen plates. Regardless of the number of plates executed by Bervic, this print may be his finest and it is certainly his most celebrated in terms of reproducing a work of a contemporary painter (Regnault). Indeed, the print was so widely acclaimed at the time that it “secured Jean-Baptiste Regnault’s election to the Academy in 1783” (see Stephen Bann’s (2001) account in “Parallel Lines” [p. 178]). Arguably, the attribute of Bervic’s skill that sets him apart from many of his fellow engravers is what is termed “moëlleus” (i.e. softness) as seen here in the subtle modelling of the figures.