Engraving Apple trees in Damville - Emile-Frédéric Nicolle

Emile-Frédéric Nicolle, grandfather of the famous Cubist painter and engraver Jacques Villon (pseudonym Gaston Duchamp), whose chalcographie has several engraved plates, made his first etching in his twenty-fourth year. Painter, watercolorist, he was for Rouen an attentive witness to the changes in his native city. Indeed, as a member of the Society of Friends of the Arts of Rouen, he designed and engraved the main buildings of Rouen before they disappeared during the redevelopment of the city. He participated in the 1878 Universal Exhibition and several times at the Salons des Artistes Français in Paris with his etchings. In 1883 he received the Academic Palms.

His engraved work is divided into two parts. His views of the monuments and streets of Rouen are a lyrical testimony to the old city. His landscapes, especially those of Saint-Valéry-en-Caux where he spent his summers, are interested in the daily and picturesque activities of this port.
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