Etching - Victorien Sardou Medium

Rare framed etching by Victorien Sardou (1831 - 1908) considered to be the first automatic engraving (cf andrebreton.fr)
"La Maison de Bernard Palissy sur Jupiter"
Circa 1858
Very fine proof on strong vellum, framed with wooden sticks and mat, very slight oxidation of the sheet.
Dimensions at sight :
Length 19.5 cm
Height 26 cm

Victorien Sardou was a playwright and a precursor of so-called mediumistic art, just like Victor Hugo.
He made a series of etchings representing the celestial residences of Palissy, Mozart, or Zoroaster on Jupiter.
These “automatic” spiritist works had been dictated to him by Bernard Palissy himself, he claimed.
A proof of "La Maison de Mozart" was part of the André Breton collection sold by Calmels-Cohen in April 2003