This print accompanied the quote by Racine: “Et les siècles obscurs devant moi se découvrent.”

The project inspired a new way of working in lithography for Moore. In collaboration with the legendary print studio Curwen Studios, the artist developed a new technical process called ‘diazo lithography’. The prints were made by drawing onto a thin transparent film with black lithographic ink or semi-opaque liquid. The image was then transferred to the plate by ultra-violet light. The strength of the image depended on the length of exposure, allowing the image to be made up a series of tonal layers from one original.

The prints are comprised of a mixture of those from the edition on Arches wove paper as well as several rare proofs on Japon nacré paper, which has a delicate texture and sheen. They come from the private collection of the publisher, Félia Léal, who was a publisher of artists’ books. She was the director of the Association de Bibliophiles Art et Poésie, the publisher of the present series of prints. Léal had been known among artists’ circles, including being friends with Pablo Picasso.

The above three lithographs were originally made to introduce the set of prints in La Poésie.

…Oui, c’est pour moi, pour moi, que je fleuris, déserte!
Stéphane Mallarmé

In Ideas from a Sketchbook Moore drew on two layers of film: one for the background, another for the figures. Both films were exposed twice to make four plates. After proofing, the colours ranges were decided upon. Here we see that the background was printed in ochre and light ochre, and the figure in grey and brown. The result is a four-colour lithograph printed from four plates.

Le don de vivre a passé dans les fleurs!
Paul Valéry

Une dame créole aux charmes ignorés.
Charles Baudelaire

Ils reviendront, ces dieux que tu pleures toujours!
Gérard de Nerval

This image echoes the composition chosen for the slipcase of the portfolio and was therefore entitled Slipcase.