Omer Désiré Bouchery (1882-1962) - Etching

Omer Désiré Bouchery (1882-1962) Etching. "The Feast of Broquelet" after the painting by Watteau. Signed bottom right. Circa 1930-1940. Dimensions (sheet): 35x41cm. Good condition, a hole on the right (see photos) *Born in 1882 in Lille, to a tanner father and a milliner mother, Omer Désiré Bouchery is the third of four boys. In 1896, he entered the Lille School of Fine Arts, under the direction of Alphonse Leroy and Pharaon de Winter. He was 14 years old at the time. In 1901, he continued his training at the Paris School of Fine Arts and received a scholarship from the city of Lille and a workshop mention in his first year. He studied engraving, painting, and sculpture there. However, he was forced, in 1906, to put his plans on hold to complete his military service. A year later, he exhibited for the first time at the Salon of French Artists and received a special encouragement prize from the State. Reinforced in his practice, Omer Bouchery won several major awards such as the Stillman Prize (1910), the Second Grand Prix de Rome (1912), the Gold Medal awarded at the Salon of French Artists (1914), the Bellin Prize (1920), the Prize of the French Society of Engraving (1927), the Delphin-Petit (1928), the Gold Medal of the city of Lille (1934), the Ary Scheffer Prize (1941), the Catenacci Prize (1943) awarded by the Institute of France, the Gold Medal of the Society for the Encouragement of Art and Industry (1952), and the Taylor Prize (1959). In 1911, he received his first commission for interpretative engravings for "The Charterhouse of Parma" by Stendhal, and in 1922, he created his first original illustrations for "Shadows and Clarity" by Kermario. In 1923, he became a member of the jury of the Salon of French Artists. After some travels (Italy, Brittany, Switzerland...) and a position as general secretary of the federation of French engravers and lithographers, Omer Bouchery became a knight of the Legion of Honour in 1934.