Unidentified printmaker from the circle of Nicolaes de Bruyn, “Five Birds Including Spoonbill”, c1594

Unidentified printmaker from the circle of Nicolaas de Bruyn (aka Nicolaes de Bruyn; Nicolaas de Bruin) (1571–1656)

“Five Birds Including Spoonbill” (aka “Vijf vogels waaronder lepelaar”), c1594, plate 5 after the series of engravings by De Bruyn—the British Museum advises that there are 13 plates in the series [Z,1.95] whereas the Rijksmuseum proposes that there are 12 plates [RP-P-1898-A-20003])—“Birds and Insects” (aka “Vogels en insecten”), possibly published following the different editions of De Bruyn’s plates by Francoys van Beusecom (aka Francoys van Beusekom) (fl.1642–1665), Ahasuerus van Londerseel (aka Assuerus Londerssel) (1572–1635) and Carel Allard (aka Carolus Allard; Carel Allardt; Carel Allart) (1648–1709).

Engraving on laid paper trimmed with a thread margin around the image borderline.

Size: (sheet) 8.3 x 12.6 cm.

Inscribed on plate: (lower right) [ligature monogram] “NB. in.”; (right edge) “5”.

References to De Bruyn’s engraving: Hollstein Dutch 228 (F.W.H. Hollstein 1951, “Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts ca. 1450–1700: Brun–Coques”, vol. 4, Amsterdam, Menno Hertzberger, p. 24, cat. no. 228); Orn Cat I 37-A.2 (Irene Margaretha de Groot 1988, “Ornamentprenten in het Rijksprentenkabinet”, Den Haag, Rijksprentenkabinet, Rijksmuseum Staatsuitgeverij).

The British Museum offers the following description of De Bruyn’s engraving:

“Landscape with several birds on a river-bank, such as cranes, small sailing boats in background; from a series of thirteen prints showing birds and insects. 1594”

(https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_Z-1-95).

See also the description of De Bruyn’s engraving offered by the Rijksmuseum with reference to another series:

(Transl.) “Print from a series of twelve prints with birds and insects. Sheets from another series of prints are depicted at Hollstein, see De Groot 1988, p. 37.”

(http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.collect.89139).

Condition: near faultless early impression showing no sign of wear to the printing plate, trimmed with a thread margin around the image borderline in excellent/near pristine condition.

I am selling this superb engraving by an unidentified printmaker after Nicolaes de Bruyn’s engraving, for the total cost of AU$208 (currently US$146.23/EUR125.64/GBP114.74 at the time of this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this marvellous jewel of early engraving showing water birds, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Charles Meryon’s etching, “Pierre Nivelle, Bishop de Luçon”, 1861, after Michel Lasne

Charles Meryon (1821–1868)

“Pierre Nivelle, Bishop de Luçon”, 1861, after an engraving by Michel Lasne (aka Michael Asinius; Michel L'Asne; Michael Lanius) (c1590–1667), printed by Abraham Beillet (aka Beillet & Forestier) (fl.1850–1876) and published in an edition of 550 copies by L. Clouzot in Benjamin Fillon and Octave de Rochebrune’s “Poitou et Vendée, études historiques et artistique” in 1887 in Niort.

Regarding this extraordinary etching, Meryon (in translation) offers the following insights in “My observations on the article in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts” (1863):

“After the splendid engraving by Michel Lasne. I had to reproduce the original as faithfully as possible whilst reducing it to the present dimensions. The surrounding framework has been composed with the aid of various data furnished by Monsieur Benjamin Fillon, and also from my own conjecture of the personage” (see Loys Delteil & Harold J.L. Wright’s [1989] “Catalogue Raisonné of the Etchings of Charles Meryon", San Francisco, Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, [n.p.] cat. no. 81).

Etching (on tin printing plate) with plate tone on fine laid paper with full margins as published.

Size: (sheet) 32 x 24 cm; (plate) 15.9 x 10.9 cm; (image borderline) 14.4 x 9.4 cm.

Inscribed on plate within the image borderline: (around oval frame) “PIERRE NIVELLE ÉVÊQUE DE LUÇON”; (lower left) “NÉ TROYES/ EN 1584”; (lower centre) “MDCCCLXI/ [ligature monogram] CM”; (lower right) “MORT À LUÇON/ LE 10 FÉV 1660”.

Inscribed on plate below the image borderline (only partial visible): (left) “D'après M.L.”; (right) “Imp. A.Beillet Q de la Tournelle 35 Paris”.

State vi (of vii) Note that there is variation in the number of states according to the raisonné consulted and the attribution of this impression to state vi is following Delteil & Wright’s (1989 revised edition) descriptions of the states.

Loys Delteil & Harold J.L. Wright 81. 6; Schneidermann 76. 5.

The British Museum offers descriptions of two states of this print:

(state ii) https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1865-0114-136;

(state v/vi) https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1876-0510-387.

Condition: strong impression with full margins as published. The sheet is in excellent/near pristine condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, losses, abrasions, stains, foxing or signs of use) but there are intrinsic imperfections in the paper and the lower margin shows a printer’s crease (i.e. a pressure crease created during the printing process).

I am selling this rarely seen etching by Meryon showing the artist’s famous propensity for creative invention by populating the space around the Bishop’s portrait with subject matter that lends a extra dimension to a viewer’s reading of the sitter (e.g. a glass possibly filled with alcohol and a stirring rod in it on the lower left; a possibly severed hand and a cascade of jewels on the lower right—my apologies if I have misinterpreted what is depicted), for the total cost of AU$337 (currently US$237.26/EUR203.92/GBP186.45 at the time of this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this curiously wonderful etching by one of the most important French printmakers of the nineteenth century, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold

Jan Sadeler I’s engraving, “Saint Or”, 1585, after Maarten de Vos

Jan Sadeler I (aka Johannes Sadeler; Johann Sadeler) (1550–1600) possibly in collaboration with Raphael Sadeler (1561–1628)

“Saint Or” (a saint from Syriaco [Egypt] and a martyr of Antinoë), 1585, after a drawing by Maarten de Vos (aka Maarten de Vos; Maerten de Vos) (1532–1603) (Isabelle de Ramaix [2001] in TIB, vol. 70, Part 2 [Supplement], advises that the drawing is with an art dealer [see p. 204 for details]), plate 20 in the series, “Solitudo sive vitae patrum eremicolarum” (aka “Mannelijke kluizenaars”), published by Jan Sadeler I in Antwerp.

Engraving on laid paper with a narrow margin around the platemark.

Size: (sheet) 17.3 x 21.6 cm; (plate) 16.7 x 21.3 cm; (image borderline) 15.2 x 20.8 cm.

Inscribed on plate within the image borderline on the barrel at the lower right corner with ligature monogram: “IS/ excu.”

Lettered and numbered on plate below the image borderline: “OR deserta colens paucis accessa, flagrantes/ Ad Dominum fudit nocte dieq[ue] preces.// 20// Huic plu[v]ialis acqua, et iunctæ sil[v]estrib[us] herbis/ Crudæ radices, potus et esca fuit.”

Lifetime impression, state i (of ii) before the erasing of the plate number (“20”) of the second state.

TIB 7001.368 S1 (Isabelle de Ramaix 2001, “The Illustrated Bartsch: Johan Sadeler I”, vol. 70, Part 2 [Supplement], New York, Abaris Books, p. 204, cat. no. [7001] .368 S1); Hollstein (Sadeler) 397; Hollstein (Vos) 984; Le Blanc, no. 121; Wurzbach, no. 113; Edquist, p. 64, no. 74a; Nagler 1835–52, no. 135.

vHMML (an initiative of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library) offers the following description of this print:

“Engraving depicting St. Or, from the series ‘Solitudo sive vitae patrum eremicolarum’, one of the five hermit series produced by de Vos between 1580 and 1600. The saint is shown kneeling by a cross resting on the ground before him. A small structure built into a tree nearby holds an image of the Virgin and Child. To the right, a cask is covered by a shade, with a drinking bowl hanging from the stick propping it up. Rain is depicted in the forest background; a rivulet of water flows into a pitcher. … Probably designed in Antwerp by de Vos and engraved and published in Munich by the Sadeler family” (https://w3id.org/vhmml/museum/view/1688).

See also the description offered by the Rijksmuseum: http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.168572.

Condition: well-printed early impression showing no sign of wear to the printing plate with a narrow margin around the platemark. The sheet is in near pristine condition for its considerable age (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, losses, abrasions, stains, foxing or signs of use).

I am selling this very beautiful lifetime impression from 1585—note the superb early representation of rain behind the praying saint—for the total cost of AU$312 (currently US$219.90/EUR188.80/GBP172.46 at the time of this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this amazing engraving executed with the most sensitive of touches, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Paul van Ryssel’s (aka Dr Paul Gachet—Van Gogh’s doctor) etching, “Les Cochons”, 1876

Paul van Ryssel (1828–1909) (aka Dr Paul-Ferdinand Gachet—Vincent van Gogh’s doctor)

“Les Cochons”, 1876? (dated on plate possibly with the number “7” reversed), published by Librairie de l'Eau-Forte (fl.1874–1876) in Paris in 1876 as an illustration to Arsène Houssaye’s (1815–1896) “Tableaux Rustiques: Le Cochon”.

Etching (with traces of dot roulette) on grey China paper trimmed to the image borderline (as published) and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 9.5 x 12.4 cm.

Signed on the plate: (upper left corner) “P. Van Ryssel”; (ligature monogram at upper right) “[R]VP”; (dated at lower left corner) “18[7?]6”

Condition: well-printed impression trimmed around the image borderline and laid onto a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper. The sheet is in an excellent condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, foxing or signs of handling).

I am selling this very rare etching, exemplifying the famous doctor’s direct approach to etching that no doubt guided Vincent van Gogh in making his first and only etching, “Portrait of Dr Gachet with Pipe” (1890)—an approach that Vincent’s brother, Theo, summed up perfectly: “No refinement in the execution, but a drawing on metal” (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Dr._Gachet)—for AU$352 (currently US$250.48/EUR214.24/GBP196.78 at the time of posting this print) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this unassuming etching executed as if the artist were shaping the form of the pigs by a sense of touch rather than by simply looking—i.e. a haptic rather than a visual approach—please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold

Israel Silvestre’s etching, “Profil de la Ville de S. Denis”, c1645

Israel Silvestre (aka Israel Sylvestre) (1621–1691)

“Profil de la Ville de S. Denis”, c1645 (1636–1655), with verses inscribed on plate below the image borderline by French poet, Georges de Scudéry (1601–1667), published by Israel Silvestre in Paris with privilege by Louis XIV (King of France).

Etching on laid paper trimmed to the platemark on the sides with a margin on the upper and lower edges, backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 18.3 x 32.2 cm; (plate) 14.3 x 32.2 cm; (image borderline) 11.5 x 31.8 cm.

Inscribed on plate within the image borderline: (upper centre banderole) “Profil de la Ville de S. Denis”.

Lettered on plate below the image borderline: (centre in sixteen lines of French verse in four columns) "Vous qu'on voit soupirer,/ Quand la parque vous apelle;/ Oserez vous murmurer,/ Voyant la grandeur mortelle.// Vous plaindrez vous de ces loix/ Dont les ordres vous menacent/ Et qui font passer les Rois/ Par ou tous les hommes passent.// Ces Magnifiques Tombeaux,/ Ces superbes Mausolées/ Ne marques, quoy quils soyent beaux/ Que des pertes signallées.// Rien ne peut long temps durer,/ Dans nos egalles fortunes;/ Moures donc sans murmurer,/ Ames foibles et communes." ([Transl.] “You that we see sigh,/ When the park calls you;/ Dare to whisper,/ Seeing the mortal grandeur.// You will complain about these laws/ Whose orders threaten you/ And which make Kings pass/ By or all men pass.// These Magnificent Tombs,/ These superb Mausoleums/ Do not mark, that they are beautiful/ Only reported losses.// Nothing can last long,/ In our equal fortunes;/ So die without murmuring,/ Weak and common souls."); (lower right corner) “I. Siluestre delineauit et fe. cum priuil. Regis.”

Faucheux 290.1 (Louis Étienne Faucheux 1857, “Catalogue raisonne de toutes les oeuvres qui format l'oeuvre d'Israel Silvestre”, Paris, Veuve Jules Renouard, p. 280, cat. no. 290.1); LeBlanc 702 (Charles LeBlanc 1854, “Manuel de l'amateur d'estampes, contenant un dictionnaire des graveurs de toutes les nations: ouvrage destiné à faire suite au Manuel du libraire par J.Ch. Brunet”, vol. 3, p. 514, cat. no. 702).

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“View of St Denis, with horsemen and figures in the foreground, beyond the river, the open land, and the city dominated by the cathedral in the background; a banner bearing the title in the upper section”

(https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_X-9-174).

See also the description offered by the Rijksmuseum: http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.176278

Condition: well-printed impression trimmed to the platemark on the sides and with a large margin on the upper and lower edges. There is a dot stain in the lower margin at left and the upper left corner has a pale stain; otherwise the sheet is in an excellent condition for its age and is laid onto a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper.

I am selling this beautifully engraved panoramic view of Saint-Denis—a northern region/suburb of Paris, approximately 9.5 km from the centre of Paris—showing the tall spire of the Basilica of Saint-Denis and its north tower before the dismantling of the tower in the mid-1880s, for the total cost of AU$208 (currently US$150/EUR127.75/GBP117.04 at the time of posting this print) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this fascinating representation of the important landmarks of Saint-Denis viewed from the north-west in the 1600s, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold