Marie-claire Sibertin-blanc (1916-2005), Sainte-anne d'Auray, Popular Image - Framed Print

Marie-Claire SIBERTIN-BLANC (1916-2005)
Saint Anne d'Auray PPN (Priez Pour Nous (Pray For Us))
Popular Image, wood engraving in colors (Black "key" block + 5 colors, probably stenciled, in the style of Epinal engravings but with a very Breton style) on Ingres paper
Circa 1940
Framed

Total dimensions: 46.5 x 40 x 2cm
Sheet dimensions: 42 x 35cm

In perfect condition and with vivid and still very fresh colors, this wood engraving is a tribute to the mother of Mary who gave her name to the eponymous Breton town after an apparition there before Yvon Nicolazic (1591-1645), Breton peasant servant of God and visionary.
The print also evokes the unfolding of the apparition on the sides of the image, with on the left :
- The apparition of Saint Anne with her candle "Yves Nicolazic, do not be afraid, I am Anne, mother of Mary"
- The discovery of the forgotten statue of the saint in the field known as Bocenno "July 25, 1624"

Then on the right, the construction of the Basilica of Saint Anne of Sainte-Anne-d'Auray following this miracle :
- "Saint Anne - Saint Anne, Ô Good Mother - Bless your Bretons"

The wood engraving technique, highly valued by Breton engravers who have revived this beautiful technique by adding their characteristic regional touch, allows the story of the miracle to be highlighted in a modernity typical of the 1940s with the specific raw character of this technique and this region. The colors bring an extra touch of life and warmth, perfectly suited to the gentleness and serenity of the figure of Saint Anne.

Marie-Claire Anne Sibertin-Blanc, born September 15, 1916, in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines and died in Fontenay-lès-Briis on March 14, 2005, was a former student of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. A former student of Jacques Beltrand, she participated in several group exhibitions as well as solo and joint exhibitions, her husband also being an engraver (intaglio). Her father was a painter and created the PAX enamel vault for the war memorial in Sainte-Anne-d'Auray in 1938.