Jean Donnay - Childhood - Original Etching - 1950s

L'Enfance is an original artwork realized in the first half of the 20 the Century by Jean Donnay. Original etching on paper. Edition of 50 prints. Hand-signed in pencil by the artist on the lower right corner: ''Jean Donnay''. Numbered and titled in pencil by the artist on the lower left corner: ''L'Enfance 47/50''. Mint conditions. Fresh and beautiful artwork representing two women holding their children in their hands. The figures are surrounded by a natural scene with trees and a landscape in the background. This work was realized by the Belgian artist and engraver Jean Donnay (Cheratte, 1897 - Liège, 1992). In 1910, he began his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts where he studied with Auguste Donnay, Adrien de Witte, François Maréchal, Emile Berchmans and Evariste Carpentier. In 1920, he won the Donnay Prize for Painting: thanks to the scholarship, he could stay in Paris. In 1921, Donnay was enrolled in the engraving course opened at the Academy of Fine Arts in Liège by François Maréchal. In 1931, Jean Donnay was appointed professor of engraving at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Liège. Winner of the engraving prize of the province of Liège in 1946, Jean Donnay got seriously ill between 1950 and 1953 and no longer worked. In 1961, he was appointed director of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Liège, where Georges Comaire succeeded him as professor at the engraving workshop. In 1973, Jean Donnay became a member of the class of Fine Arts of the Royal Academy of Belgium. He exhibited mainly in Belgium and Paris, but also all over the world (Monza, New York, Berlin, Prague, Moscow, etc.). In all his work, we find representations of the decorations of his native village, Cheratte, the Herve Plateau, the Meuse valley and the Liège region.