This French oleograph depicting Christ on the Cross was produced by L. Turgis & Fils of Paris circa 1892. It is presented in an ornate frame with glass described as original hand-rolled glass. The frame has some cracking and two small missing pieces, as detailed below.
When I first saw this I thought it was a carving underglass. Upon moving closer it still looked like a 3D carving because is was so wonderfully detailed. It is in fact an oleograph produced by Louis August Turgis at his works in Paris in around 1892.
The Turgis family had founded the business in 1838 And Louis took it over on the death of his brother in 1854. Offices were in Paris, Toulouse, several cities in Spain and when Louis took over he opened an office in New York.
The method of Oleography used multiple stones, a separate stone for each colour and included printing one colour over another.
Oleo in Latin means Oil. This technique used oil that gave the prints better quality. It is a chemical process based on the rejection of oil by water. Depending on the number of colours present in the picture, skilled workers took months to complete a single oleograph.
This beautiful oleograph was commissioned for a wealthy family in Toulouse and recently came up for auction there so it is a 'one off' and not part of a series.
How valuable it was to the family is demonstrated by the wonderfully ornate framing which, whilst a little cracked in places and with two small pieces missing, is still remarkable.
The glass alone would have cost a small fortune. It is impossible to see in the photographs but lay it down and you can see the small ripples that show this was hand rolled glass.
It is a substantial piece as it measures 32 x 25 inches
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