Wholesale Antique heliogravure "Evening Prayer" after Émile Munier, Braun & Co., gilded wooden frame

This old heliogravure finely reproduces the work of the French academic painter Émile Munier, entitled Evening Prayer. A little girl with brown curls, kneeling in her bed against a lace-trimmed pillow, clasps her hands in a gesture of prayer, her gaze turned toward the viewer with infinite softness. The composition, signed E. Munier and dated 1890, bears the publisher’s mark Héliogravure Braun & Cie, the famous Alsatian art reproduction house of the late 19th century. The heliogravure process renders all the subtlety of half-tones, from the velvety flesh to the play of shadows on the sheets, with a sepia depth characteristic of fine prints of the period. The refinement of the lace and the tenderness of the scene attest to Munier’s talent for portraits of children, which made his reputation in the Paris Salons. The print is presented in its original patinated gilt wooden frame, under glass, and retains on the back the label of the framer P. Fuchs in Strasbourg. The frame measures approximately 29 x 21 cm and shows a beautiful gilt patina with signs of age, the print retaining its warm sepia tone under the glass. One can imagine it hanging in a child’s bedroom above an antique dresser, or in a papered hallway where its soft light draws the eye. A piece imbued with tenderness and spirituality, ideal for lovers of academic art, antique prints, and the romantic atmospheres of yesteryear.