Bon à tirer proof of a maritime scene by Josep M.ª Draper, with figures beside boats and pencil annotations in the margins.
Mediterranean figures and light
Nude and partly clothed figures work with nets and ropes beside beached boats, their backs turned to the viewer. Gulls cross the sky before a mountainous horizon. Draper’s expressive line connects the scene with classicism and Catalan Noucentisme, giving the fishermen’s everyday work a timeless character.
Margin annotations
The lower left margin reads “Bon a tirer” in pencil. “Quedará + limpio” appears below the image near the centre; the signature “Draper” is at the lower right.
Technical details
Artist: Josep M.ª Draper.
Title / Subject: Figures beside Boats (maritime genre scene).
Technique and support: Original etching on heavyweight cotton paper with natural deckle edges.
Edition / Catalogue: Bon à tirer master proof (B.A.T.), inscribed “Bon a tirer” in pencil in the lower left margin. Reference proof for approval of the edition.
Working annotation: The artist’s original handwritten pencil instruction “Quedará + limpio” in the lower central margin.
Signature and inscriptions: Hand-signed “Draper” in pencil in the lower right corner.
Dimensions: Paper: 35 × 28.5 cm. Plate mark: horizontal format; exact dimensions in millimetres remain to be catalogued.
Figures gather in the foreground, their pale bodies outlined against overlapping boats. Curved gunwales and vertical masts lead the eye from the shore towards open water. Birds cross the sky in different directions between rocky formations on both sides of the horizon. Dense hatching below the figures contrasts with the lighter sea and sky.
