Lafitte, Alphonse

1863 –
French

It has long been accepted that Alphonse Lafitte and Manuel Robbe were one and the same artist.  Auction houses, institutions, and dealers, including this one, subscribed to the theory that Alphonse Lafitte was a pseudonym used to sign Robbe’s etchings of seascapes and Brittany subjects.

However, a paper written by Daniel Morane and published in Nouvelles de l’Estampe Nº 169, offers concrete evidence that these were two different men.  “Manuel Robbe et/ou Alphonse Lafitte” relies upon examination of the Sagot Le Garrec archives on deposit at the Bibliothèque Jacques Doucet, to convincingly argue that while there may be similarities in the coloration and style of their etchings, the prints were executed independently.

Granted, some of the confusion may have stemmed from the fact that they shared an address on the rue Caulaincourt in Montmartre and that they exhibited their prints at some of the same salons and were both published by Sagot le Garrec. On the other hand, Sagot’s records clearly state that Lafitte was the student of Manuel Robbe and that he was born a full 9 years before his teacher, having spent the early part of his working life as chef de l’orchestre for concerts in the Jardins d’Acclimatation.

Perhaps the most damming proof that Lafitte was not Robbe comes from a newspaper article cut out of the December 14, 1902 issue of Le Français.  The article describes a police investigation resulting in the discovery and return of eleven paintings stolen two months prior from the Neuilly home of a Monsieur de Sauvignières and found cached in the atelier of Alphonse Lafitte!

No matter what, Alphonse Lafitte was a gifted printmaker and his luscious aquatints remain highly collectible by print enthusiasts.