In his monograph on Theodore Roussel, art critic Frank Rutter describes the artist as “a Frenchman by birth, an Englishman by virtue of long residence, and an artist by choice”. Born in Lorient, Brittany, in 1847, Roussel grew up within a family tradition that expected men to pursue careers in the navy or army– an expectation which many in his lineage had fulfilled with distinction. While initially following this trajectory, Roussel's military career was brief, and in 1872, he fully embraced his true calling as an artist. He moved to England in 1877 and, spurred on by his friend and mentor, James McNeill Whistler, embarked on an artistic career dedicated to the intricate exploration of printmaking techniques, eventually becoming recognised as the preeminent colour etcher of his generation.
Theodore Roussel first travelled to England in 1877, apparently intending to stay for a short period of time in order to study the works of English masters of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. However, Roussel quickly discovered that the art market in England was more favourable for his work and decided to make England his permanent home. By 1885, Theodore Roussel was well established in London. He had a wife, two children and a stepson, and a large family house on the edge of Chelsea – an area of London which would come to play a central role in much of Roussel’s work. The year 1885 was also very significant for Roussel’s career as an artist. An exhibition featuring Roussel's work at the Dowdeswell Gallery in the autumn of that year brought the artist to the attention of James McNeill Whistler. A life-long friendship ensued which would profoundly shape Roussel’s artistic journey for much of the next decade.
Whistler, already a master etcher himself, encouraged Roussel to pursue etching. Roussel had previously attempted to produce works in this medium while still living in Paris but had been highly dissatisfied with his results. Under Whistler’s guidance, Roussel, in about 1887 or 1888, began his apprenticeship to a kind of practice very different from the prevalent hackwork methods approved in Paris. Whistler was a brilliant exponent of “free etching”, advocating that an artist should draw on his copper plate directly from nature, working on the spot to carry his work to as advanced a state as possible in order to preserve the qualities of lightness and spontaneity.
Working in this manner, Roussel made a series of etchings depicting local scenes and people from around the Chelsea area in August of 1888. Revealing the profound influence of Whistler, these etchings preserve the freshness and spontaneity of a page torn from contemporary life while also maintaining a delightful decorative quality. However, while these prints also reference Whistler’s penchant for capturing in the local scene, Roussel’s portrayals of people in his etchings are more personal and intimate than the older artist’s depictions of London street-life, allowing the prints to transcend mere representation and evoke a deeper emotional connection with Chelsea and its people. Family and friends would also often feature in Roussel’s prints. Chelsea Regatta, while capturing the bustling atmosphere of the annual boat race, focuses the viewer's attention on three young children at the left of the plate. These are likely Roussel’s own children, Paul, Jeanne, and Raphael, depicted in detail and shown facing the artist rather than the activities on the river.
The Little Fish Shop, Chelsea depicts the front of 72 Cheyne Walk, a fish shop owned by Mrs. Elizabeth Maunder. Maunder’s Fish Shop was an important feature of the western end of Cheyne Walk. It was patronised by Thomas Carlyle’s wife, Jane, and was in a row of buildings which, in part, reputedly dated back to Sir Thomas More’s time. The building was sadly destroyed by bombs during World War II but a terra-cotta medallion from the façade of the Fish Shop, visible in the etching, was salvaged and is now located within the Chelsea Public Library.
The Gate, Chelsea depicts another building on Cheyne Walk, the house at No.4. Unlike the Fish Shop, the gate and house depicted in this etching both still stand today. The house is located in a row of the oldest and most elegant buildings on Cheyne Walk – a segment which has changed the least since Roussel’s time. No.4 was the home of the Irish artist Daniel Maclise in the 1860s and, later, home of the writer George Eliot during the year of her death in 1880.
In 1890, Roussel and his family relocated to Parson’s Green, situated in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Immersed in this new locale, the artist was inspired to produced three etchings of the local scene, exhibiting in them an interest in the everyday life of the neighbourhood akin to his earlier depictions of Chelsea. One of these prints, entitled, The Sign of the White Horse, Parson’s Green, depicts the White Horse pub which was located a mere stone’s throw away from Roussel’s new home. The building still stands today, although it has now become part of Lady Margaret School.
The 1890s also saw Roussel begin to experiment more with printmaking techniques, developing interests outside of Whistler’s influence. He became more concerned with the tonal possibilities of intaglio techniques and began to develop various aquatint and soft ground formulae. In conjunction with his work on grounds, he experimented with etching ink, mixing colours to his own specifications and developing inks that would not change colour when in contact with copper etching plates. Unlike many other printmakers at the time, Roussel worked without a technician. He depended on his own colour theories and “trial and error”, pulling proof after proof until he was satisfied with the results. The work on aquatint, soft ground and coloured ink culminated in the set of nine colour prints which were exhibited in 1899 at the Goupil Gallery.
Among these remarkable colour prints is Chelsea Palaces (Colour), a vibrant rendition of Roussel’s earlier black-and-white etching from 1888 bearing the same name. Six printings were necessary to produce a complete impression and the range and number of colours employed make this the most complex of Roussel’s small colour prints. This print was entitled Chelsea Palaces, Sunset in the exhibition catalogue at Goupil’s in July 1899 and, indeed, Roussel’s technical mastery over colour printing processes enabled the artist to sublimely capture the effects of light as the sun makes it descent behind the buildings of Chelsea. Roussel presented his colour prints on hand printed mounts which he had specifically designed so that the mount and colour print together create "a complete harmony of colour".
Theodore Roussel (1847-1926) Chelsea Palaces (Colour), Colour etching, aquatint and lavis, 9 x 13 cm (without mount)
Another of these colour prints exhibited in 1899 is the beautiful Anemonies. This particular print showcases the artist’s mastery over a variety of printing techniques. The background was printed twice in two tones to produce a rich umber hue, while the colours of the flowers, stems and vase were skilfully applied using the à la poupée method. Interestingly, this is the only print from the Goupil’s exhibition which can be dated precisely due to an inscription on the print’s first proof which revealed that the work was made as a birthday present for Roussel’s daughter Jeanne on her seventeenth birthday. The inscription reads “1st proof Th.R. To my darling daughter. Th.Roussel. April 21st, 1897”.
However, Roussel’s commitment to experimenting with colour printmaking continued well beyond the Goupil exhibition in 1899. In the 1920s, Roussel began to develop a new technique in an opaque medium similar to gouache which he named the ‘Roussel Medium’. The technique consisted of a water-based ‘ink’ composed of rice powder and pigment which was partially printed from textile plates made from a series of master cuttings in paper and partially applied through paper stencils. Such a technique was conceived to produce a printed image with a purity and intensity of colour unobtainable with traditional oil-based inks.
Very few impressions of prints in the Roussel Medium were made. However, from this technique Roussel obtained the remarkable colour-print entitled The Steamer, a marine picture of jewel-like colour, which differs from earlier colour etchings notably by the rich impasto of its surface quality. The pigment, held together by a medium extracted from rice, lies encrusted on the paper with a granulated surface, obtained from the grain of the textile, which increases enormously the richness and vitality of the colour.
Theodore Roussel (1847-1926) The Steamer, Roussel Medium, 14 x 19 cm, includes details of the artist's printing method
The Roussel Medium stands as a testament to the depth of the artist’s interest in expanding the vocabulary of printmaking. His commitment to exploring new possibilities within the art form ensured Roussel’s work remained characterised by a freshness and distinctiveness throughout his artistic career. In his introduction to Frank Rutter’s monograph on the artist, C. Reginald Grundy aptly describes Roussel as “a man of wide culture [who] approached art from more than one quarter and always in the guise of an independent explorer.” Indeed, Roussel’s adventurous spirit carried the art of colour etching and colour printing to a stage that no European artist had ever before attempted.
A fully illustrated catalogue for our summer exhibition of British Impressionism is available to buy online and from our gallery in St. James's
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