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Manuel Robbe (1872-1936) Manuel Robbe was born in Paris on December 16, 1872, into a family from the northern French town of Berthune. He studied painting and etching, and soon became an accomplished engraver, specializing in the medium of aquatint. He exhibited regularly at the Salons of the Societé des Artistes Français. Edmond Sagot, one of the most significant publishers of prints at the turn of the 20th century, was a great admirer of Mauel Robbe, and regularly published color prints by him. Between then and the outbreak of the war in 1914, Robbe executed a large number of aquatints in color and in black. In 1900 Manuel Robbe was awarded a Gold Medal at the Universal Exhibition for his prints. In 1905 he transferred his allegiance from the Societé des Artistes Français to the Societé Nationale des Beaux-Arts, in whose annual salons he was henceforth to exhibit. Robbe’s personal vision is found in his visualization of the women of Paris during the intriguing era of the Belle Epoque. His personal views are even more powerful, as Robbe was a great technician in drypoint and in color aquatint. The influences on Robbe were varied. The influence of Renoir is apparent in his upper middle class women of the Belle Epoque, especially in scenes of women in their boudoirs, with children in the parks, in the promenades and the streets where the essence of happiness is expressed. |