Sydney E. Wilson after Greuze - "Throwing a Kiss" (1923)

Sydney Ernest Wilson after Jean-Baptiste Greuze – Throwing a Kiss (Le Baiser Envoyé), Coloured Mezzotint Engraving, Published c.1923, Framed

A coloured mezzotint engraving by Sydney Ernest Wilson (1869–1940), after the celebrated French painter Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725–1805), depicting Throwing a Kiss (Le Baiser Envoyé). The composition shows a young woman in 18th-century dress, caught in an intimate and theatrical moment as she sends a kiss while holding a letter, framed by rich drapery and floral detail.

The image is one of Greuze’s most recognisable and appealing subjects, combining sentiment, elegance, and carefully staged charm. It reflects the taste for refined and emotionally charged genre scenes that made his work so admired, while the costume, pose, and setting give the composition a strong decorative quality. Wilson’s interpretation preserves that appeal beautifully, translating the softness and painterly richness of the original into the velvety tonal language of mezzotint.

Sydney Ernest Wilson was a highly regarded British engraver, particularly known for his accomplished reproductive prints after Old Masters and 18th-century French pictures. His mezzotints are valued for their tonal depth and sensitivity to the original paintings, and this coloured example is especially attractive for the warmth and delicacy of its finish. Pencil signed in the margin and generous in scale, it has strong wall presence while retaining the intimacy and softness characteristic of the medium.

Presented in a glazed frame with a period-style mount, this is a handsome and collectible early 20th-century print, well suited to collectors of decorative mezzotints, French Rococo subjects, and romantic figural prints.

Details
Artist: Sydney Ernest Wilson (British, 1869–1940), after Jean-Baptiste Greuze (French, 1725–1805)
Title: Throwing a Kiss (Le Baiser Envoyé)
Medium: Coloured mezzotint engraving on paper
Signature: Pencil signed in the margin
Unframed size: 42 × 34 cm
Framed size: 63 × 55 cm
Date: Published c.1923
Condition: The mezzotint is in good overall vintage condition. The sheet shows light, even age toning with scattered foxing consistent with age. It remains well presented overall and displays attractively.
Frame: Glazed and ready to hang

This is an original early 20th-century mezzotint, not a modern reproduction.