Armand Coussens (1881-1935) French, Market Scene Etching in Colors. Signed bottom left. 

Overall: 19 1/2 X 26 in. 

Sight: 11 3/4 X 16 in. 

#3836 . 

Armand Coussens (1881-1935) was a French artist known for paintings, engravings and prints. He trained at the School of Fine Arts in Nîmes before spending seven years in Paris, 1900-1907, studying art around Montmartre. While in Paris, he painted post-Impressionist images and contributed illustrations to avant-garde periodicals like Le Rire, Le Cri de Paris, L’Assiette au beurre, and Cocorico. Upon returning to Nîmes in 1908, Coussens took up a teaching position at his alma mater and remained there for the rest of his life. A street named after him is a testament to his legacy in Nîmes. Favoring landscapes and quaint depictions of rural life, Coussens was one of France’s leading color etchers in the early 20th century. His ability to combine the thick lines of drypoint engraving with the more delicate lines of soft-ground etching made his work unique and highly prized. Paintings, engravings, and prints by Coussens can be found in many of the world’s major museums, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, whose collection features 7 prints by Coussens, and the Louvre, which purchased 16 of his prints around 1924. Engraving became a passion for Coussens later in his career around 1912, and he was heavily influenced by masters like Rembrandt, Honoré Daumier, and Gustave Doré. He experimented with aquatint and produced lithographs as well as monotypes. His work was internationally acclaimed, with English and Spanish museums showing his work and the French poet Francis Jammes commissioning him to produce 60 engraved plates to illustrate his work “Le poète et l’inspiration.” Tragically, Coussens died in his home in February 1935, apparently from inhaling noxious fumes emitted by the nitric acid he used on his engraving plates. His wife, Jeanne, herself a painter, bequeathed several of his paintings to the Nîmes museum.