Le Pont Victoria, Madrid
1913. Etching and drypoint on the artist's own watermarked, hand made laid paper, 5 5/8 x 7 inches (144 x 178 mm), full margins. Signed in pencil, lower right margin. Minor age and moderate mat tone, scattered areas of adhesive residue along the top extreme sheet edge (from a former mount) on the verso. Scattered light notations in pencil on the verso, otherwise in good condition.
An unusual composition for Béjot, who is inextricably linked with Parisian city scenes, primarily those of the Seine, this view of Madrid is a special one. Far from the tourist center of the bustling Spanish capital, the Queen Victoria Bridge was opened in 1909. The inauguration was attended by monarchs Alfonso XIII, and Victoria Eugenia, and in honor of the queen, it was Christened the Puente de la Reina Victoria. This then-modern marvel of engineering is one of the first concrete bridges to be built in Spain, it spans the banks of the Manzanares, and includes two elliptical underpasses which allow for multidirectional shipping lanes. It replaced a pedestrian bridge, and a structure with a wooden deck designed by Pedro de Ribera, which originated in 1728. Béjot, perhaps intrigued by the opportunity to see a modernist structure, both in its engineering, and style, made the trip specifically to see it and etch it. It's not a surprise when you look at Béjot's body of work, and begin to see that he had a fascination with bridges. He etched and painted scores of overpasses, stone bridges, trestles, walkways, and iron pedestrian structures, and documented the industrial growth along the internal waterways of France. It may have been the visual component that an expanse like the Queen Victoria Bridge lends to a composition that appealed to his eye, but we can infer that Béjot certainly also had an appreciation for engineering, and the marriage of man-made possibilities and the beauty of a natural landscape.
Item number: 404
Price: $175.00
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