Fine large three-quarter length lithograph by Charles Baugniet (1814-1886) of the violinist in formal dress, leaning in Napoleonic stance on a decoratively carved sideboard on which rest an apparent musical manuscript in progress entitled "Adagio," an inkpot, and quill pen, with a violin on a carved chair to the subject's left

430 x 315 mm. + wide margins. Signed by the artist ("C Baugniet") in the stone. On chine-appliqué, with "Dessins d'Après Nature par Baugniet," "Imprimé par Degobert" and "Lithie. de la Société des Beaux-Arts" printed to mount just beneath image.

Margins slightly soiled and foxed; edges slightly worn. A highly talented Belgian virtuoso, Artôt was a student of both Rodolphe and Auguste Kreutzer. "In 1843 Artôt [he] on a concert tour of America and Cuba with the soprano Cinti-Damoreau. He was one of the first violin virtuosos to visit America, the others being Vieuxtemps and Ole Bull; they vied with each other for the admiration of the American public, the French elements preferring Artôt's Parisian elegance to the awkward but modest stage presence of Ole Bull. While in America Artôt showed the first symptoms of the lung disease from which he died. His compositions include a Concerto in A minor (1845), fantasies and airs with variations and, in manuscript, string quartets and a Quintet for strings and piano." Alexis Chitty and Manoug Parikian in Grove Music Online.