Nigel Ip

Paris Print Fair, aka Salon de l’estampe, has been gaining traction over the past few years as one of Europe’s best fairs for Old Master prints, as well as modern and contemporary art, plus Japanese prints.

Held in the Réfectoire du Couvent des Cordeliers, the 4th edition featured a beautiful range of prints from Martin Schongauer to Pablo Picasso across 25 French and foreign exhibitors.

This was my first ever visit, and the following highlights caught my attention immediately:

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Extremely rare album of 167 prints compiled by Antonio Lafreri, c.1571 (Sarah Sauvin, stand 17)

Probably the most personal highlight for me on this list, something this precious does not come about all that often. I spent a good 15 minutes leafing through every page of prints printed by the famous 16th-century publisher and dealer, many of which were designed by Raphael and his circle, with further prints after Michelangelo.

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Anthony van Dyck and Lucas Vorsterman, The Mocking of Christ, c.1630, etching and engraving, 2nd state of nine (Jurjens Fine Art, stand 1)

Blown away by the strength of this impression.

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Wencelaus Hollar, after Jan van Bijlert, Portrait of a young Black person with Curled Hair, 1635, etching (Jurjens Fine Art, stand 1)

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Andrea Meldolla (Schiavone), The Flight into Egypt, etching on green prepared paper with white heightening (Nicolaas Teeuwisse, stand 8)

Schiavone’s prints are fascinating examples of his experimental approach to intaglio printmaking, often using etching needles, burins, and drypoints simultaneously on his copper plates, inking them differently to achieve varying tonal effects. The present impression is a testament to his preference for coloured papers and additional embellishments. His prints are rarely identical, the most interesting ones being those showing the plate being worn out and cracked.

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Michaël Cailloux etchings with embossing (Galerie Nathalie Béreau, stand 12)

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James Barry, Self-portrait, mezzotint, c.1802 (Emanuel von Baeyer, stand 13)

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Gerald Leslie Brockhurst, Adolescence, 1932, etching, 5th state of five, bon à tirer impression (C.G. Boerner, stand 19)

If there is one print every Brockhurst collector dreams of owning, this is it. His indisputable masterpiece featuring Kathleen Woodward, whom he called Dorette, embodied his idea of young womanhood.

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Domenico Campagnola, The Beheading of Saint Catherine, 1517, engraving (C.G. Boerner, stand 19)

I’m not that familiar with Campagnola’s prints, but this one hit me hard with its forceful mark-making at a time when Italian engravings took on more delicate appearances.

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Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt at the Louvre, 1879-80, soft-ground etching with drypoint and aquatint, 9th state of nine, cancelled plate impression (Galerie Stéphane Brugal, stand 22)

I’m a sucker for cancelled plate impressions, and this gallery happened to have three by Degas on the walls. Few prints by Degas are as iconic as this one of fellow painter and printmaker Mary Cassatt.

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Hendrick Goltzius, Cliff on Seashore, from Four Small Landscapes, 1597-1600, chiaroscuro woodcut on blue paper with white heightening (Pia Gallo, stand 25)

Goltzius made very few landscapes as chiaroscuro woodcuts, so this example is a rarity. It’s not his most accomplished work, but it offers a useful understanding of his graphic output.

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Salon de l’estampe / Paris Print Fair (27-30 March 2025) is at the Réfectoire du Couvent des Cordeliers, Paris 6e, https://parisprintfair.fr/en/paris-print-fair/