French artist Félix Bracquemond (1833-1914) was associated with many movements throughout his career such as impressionism, realism and Japonism, yet was not officially a member of any one movement. Most notably, however, he was regarded as one of the fathers of the etching and printmaking revival in France during the 1850’s and 1860’s. He spent his career mentoring artists and creating spaces for etchings and prints to be displayed as the art forms regained popularity, in addition to creating his own pieces and exhibiting them in salons. His etching titled Une Surprise follows the same themes of nature and animals that he employed across his career and makes a greater statement about the relationship between man and animal, as well as the idea of religion in nature.
Born in 1833 in Paris, Bracquemond started etching at age sixteen in 1849 and was largely self-taught. He was successful in his work as a printmaker and completed Le Haut d’un Battant de port (The Upper Panel of a Door) in 1852, which was the first print that granted Bracquemond recognition. The piece features a still life of birds and a bat nailed to the door of a barn, which was based on a scene that Bracquemond happened upon one day. His piece includes a “sober representation with deeply religious overtones” (Denker, 2015) which resonated with his audience and garnered Bracquemond the opportunity to have his first exhibit at the Salon that same year. Bracquemond continued to display his work at Salons from 1864 to 1872 and in addition, he received prestigious salon medals in both 1868 and 1872.
While most of Bracquemond’s work were etchings and prints, he also did some work with porcelain manufacture. His work largely focused on nature and animals, specifically the duck which became his signature motif. He started creating works with the duck, or canard in French, in 1856 and played on the double entendre of the word, which means both duck and deception. Bracquemond was even referred to as “The Michelangelo of ducks” (Denker, 2015). Japanese aesthetics also appeared in many of Bracquemond’s works, as he became familiar with the style in the 1860’s through exposure to Japanese prints and Hokusai’s volumes of the Manga (Denker, 2015). Much of Bracquemond’s work from this period was a response to the elements of Japanese art that he had become familiar with and was portrayed in both etchings and porcelain work.
Bracquemond was also a key political figure in the etching revival in France in the 1850’s and 1860’s. He was one of the founders of La Société des Aquaforistes, which was established in 1862. La Société put out monthly publications of prints from artists including Manet, Henri Fantin-Latour and Bracquemond himself (Denker, 2015). While it only lasted for five years, the Société received positive reviews and publicity from influential critics, which aided the etching revival movement overall.
Later on in his career, Bracquemond contributed prints to the impressionist exhibit (1879) which display his change in approach to landscape. His piece Une terrace de Sèvres (The Terrace of the Villa Brancas), 1879 is arguably his most impressionistic piece, as it demonstrates Bracquemond exploring “a typically impressionist motif: The study of the human figure in open air” (Denker, 2015). The piece features his wife Marie sketching her sister on the terrace in Sèvres.
Bracquemond’s piece Une Surprise (A Surprise) fits into the overarching theme of nature and animals that he developed throughout his career. The piece portrays a young woman presumably bathing in or exploring a small pond, and three ducks positoned the bank. The setting of the piece, the pond, appears to be secluded and remote as it seems overgrown. The water is surrounded by shrubs, reeds and trees on all sides, and there is so much vegetation that most of the water in view is being disrupted by the ripples created by the presence of the woman. In addition to these ripples and the light reflecting off certain spots, there is little detail in the water otherwise.
Contrary to the water, the ducks are the most detailed aspect of the piece. The three figures are situated in the foreground, and are extremely lifelike and detailed, especially in the feathers and in the faces of the animals. The duck on the left is positioned with its back to the viewer, so the light reflecting off its feathers is visible. Its head however, is turned to the right with its gaze on the center duck. The duck on the right also turns its head to set its gaze on the center duck. The center duck is the presumed leader of the three, as it is the only animal to show any acknowledgement of the young woman in the water. The center and right-hand duck share the same body position, but the duck in the center appears to have a bigger, stronger presence, perhaps due to the slight thickness of the neck in comparison to the other two animals. The detail in what is visible of the animals’ faces, especially their eyes and bills, make the ducks look extremely realistic, which contrasts from the appearance of the woman in the image.
The woman is portrayed in the nude, yet she is covering herself with her hands. She does show skin, but does not fully reveal herself in any way. Although the three birds are seemingly the only other beings present, she still covers herself, which develops uncertainty as to who or what else might be present in this scene. She is standing upright, but her head and gaze are cast down to the surface of the water. Despite her surroundings, the woman’s facial expression is not quite serene – it conveys a sense of curiosity, and also disappointment. Her reflection is not included in the piece, yet her gaze is still cast downward, which leaves the viewer uncertain as to what she’s searching for. It is unclear as to why she has entered the pond in the first place, and how she even entered, as the side by which she wades is surrounded fully by shrubs and the three ducks are guarding the shore.
The detail in all other aspects of the piece appear sharp and certain, except for the detail of the woman. She appears soft, and is much grayer in comparison to the stark contrast of black and white in other parts of the etching. She is detailed, but not in the same way that the ducks appear almost lifelike. It is difficult to even make out her individual fingers, whereas it is simple to differentiate single feathers of the ducks, reeds from the bank of the pond and leaves on the trees. Her outline is so soft that it almost appears blurry, which may lead the viewer to wonder if this is a deliberate effort by Bracquemond to allow the viewer to know additional information about the creation of the piece. Whether there was uncertainty about the contour of the woman by Bracquemond or not, this gives her an almost ghostly effect within the piece. However, her existence is confirmed by the rippling water that surrounds her, which appears to be the only aspect impacted by her presence, save for the gaze of the center duck.
The soft, greyness of the woman also plays into the effects of contrasting light and dark within the piece. The darkest parts of the piece are portrayed through the trees in the upper left and right-hand corners, as well as down the left-hand side of the piece. However, the darkness is offset by the presence of the woman. The lightest parts of the piece mirror the darkest, portrayed in the form of the reeds in the bottom left and right-hand corners and up the right-hand side of the piece. This is offset by the darkness and detail of the ducks. Additionally, there is a contrast and balance of movement in the piece. The downward sweeping movement of the upper left-hand corner opposes the upward sweeping motion of the reeds in the bottom right. They meet in the middle at the rippling effect of the water, which is caused by the woman’s wandering about the pond. The contrast and balance between light and dark, land and water, and animal and human all seem to come together and meet right in the center of the piece. Furthermore, there are a few low-hanging braches of the trees that hang above the woman’s head, almost like a halo. These are mirrored by the certain reeds that jut out from the right-hand side of the piece and rest above the rightmost duck’s head in the same way. This could possibly be Bracquemond’s way of making a statement about religion and the relationship between man and animal.