This is a rare opportunity to buy a fabulous colour woodcut by the celebrated artist and printmaker, Charles Hodge Mackie (1862 - 1920).
Mackie was born in Aldershot in 1862, to an army captain of Scottish descent. His family moved to Edinburgh, and he briefly attended Edinburgh University as a medical student.
He then studied art at the Royal Scottish Academy School.
In 1892 Mackie travelled to Brittany on his honeymoon. Here, he met Paul Sérusier, who brought him into contact with the work of Gauguin and the other Nabis artists. Mackie took up woodblock printing around 1898, and his exposure to Nabi and Japanese art was fundamental to the development of both his printing technique and artistic style. His contact with Gauguin and the Pont Aven school was to have an important influence on the rest of Mackie's career, most notably in his use of colour and technique.
Initially, Mackie used blocks of cork linoleum for his woodcuts, but later, following his contact with Gauguin, began to import oak blocks and Japanese vellum directly from Japan.
In 1893 he worked with Patrick Geddes, creating murals for an urban renewal project at Edinburgh's Ramsay Gardens next to the Castle. His work is illustrated in Geddes' publication "The Evergreen".
In 2021, The City Art Centre, Edinburgh is staging a Memorial Exhibition to mark 100 years since Mackie’s death. This will be the first major Mackie Exhibition since his last Memorial Exhibition that was held in 1921.
An impression of this print was included in this exhibition.
This is called the Ducal Palace, Venice. It is a stunning work by Mackie - and certainly, it is one of his most painterly. Mackie was captivated by Venice, and the Italian city inspired some of his finest work. His first visit took place in 1908. By this stage, he had attracted a loyal circle of patrons, such as Andrew Carnegie and he was beginning to experience growing commercial success.
Between 1908 and 1914, Mackie made several extended trips to Venice. He usually stayed at the Casa Frollo, a pensione on the island of Giudecca overlooking the entrance to the Grand Canal. Sadly, after 1914 and the start of the First World War and subsequent ill health - Macke was never able to return to his beloved city and he only ever produced a couple of prints of the Venetian cityscape.
A comparable impression of this print is also in the collection of the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh, the Walker Art Gallery, London and the British Museum, London
The image is very impressionistic in style. Mackie's technique makes this woodcut very free in structure - and it almost looks like an Impressionist oil painting.
This woodcut dates to around 1910. An impression was exhibited at the prestigious Goupil Gallery in 1911 as 'oil woodcut, oak ' no 37 in the annual exhibition of The Society of Graver - Printers in Colour.
See also: Malcolm Salaman, 'Wood- engraving in colour in Britain', The Studio, LVIII, 1913, page 296.
The print has a new ivory coloured window mount and has been professionally re-framed with a new simple oak frame. It is offered here so beautifully presented and all ready to hang on your wall.
Image size is 22 x 26 cm. Frame size: 37 x 39 cm.
It is in excellent antique condition with no issues.
All works by Mackie are always much sought after - and my price for this colour woodcut by him is listed here at a fair price.