Artwork Information

Marcoussis took up serious printmaking at the beginning of the 1930s. Planches de salut were a series of ten etchings conceived as homages to his favourite authors, and were published by his dealer Jeanne Bucher. Co-operative endeavours between writers and artists were common during this period. Marcoussis rarely made prints after his paintings, but did on occasion work in reverse, developing the concentration of form and light effects which originated in the black and white medium. The term 'planche de salut' is slang for 'long plank to salvation'.