David Kandel’s woodcut, “Rhinoceros”, 1550, after Albrecht Dürer

David Kandel (1520/25–1592/96)

“Rhinoceros”, 1550, after Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) (Meder 273), printed by Heinrich Petri (fl.c.1527–1577), published in a German edition of Sebastian Münster’s (1488–1552), “Cosmographia”, published in German from 1550 to 1628.

Woodcut with letterpress text printed recto and verso on fine laid paper (as published).

Size: (sheet) 30.7 x 19.9 cm; (Rhinoceros recto) 10 x 14.6 cm; (woodcut verso) 2.8 x 5.7 cm

With the monogram of David Kandel (entwined letters): “DK”

Hollstein 10p; Nagler 1858-79 II.1173.5; Bartsch IX.394.17

See also the description of this print held by the British Museum: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1536623&partId=1&searchText=david+Kandel&page=1

Note that the British Museum’s leaf featuring Kandel’s rhinoceros (see BM no. 1850,1014.988) is from the Latin edition of “Cosmographia” and features on the verso side a woodcut of “an elephant carrying various figures on a large saddle to right, by an anonymous printmaker”.

Condition: well-printed impression with full margins as published in near pristine condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains or foxing).

I am selling this extremely rare woodcut for AU$350 (currently US$248.63/EUR216.46/GBP191.49 at the time of this listing) including 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 superb woodcut in museum quality condition after Dürer’s famous “Rhinoceros”, 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

This woodcut by Kandel after Dürer’s famous “Rhinoceros” (1514) was a plate in a series of 22 illustrations for the enlarged edition of “Cosmographia”—the first publication offering descriptions of the world and, interestingly, the first to feature a map of the Americas—initially published in Basle in 1550 and republished another 15 times with German text with the last printing in 1628. The Curator of the British Museum advises that this enlarged edition “contained around 900 illustrations and 40 maps” (see BM no. 1850,1014.972).

For those who may not be familiar with Dürer’s depiction of a rhinoceros—an Indian rhinoceros I understand—the design of the woodcut is based on a sketch made by an unidentified artist when the portrayed rhino was in Lisbon. Essentially, Dürer never had the chance to see this particular animal as the rhino drowned when the ship that was transporting it from Lisbon to Rome became shipwrecked. What Kandel/Dürer have depicted in their illustration of a rhino is consequently a concoction of rhino details and understandably, some are not quite right, such as an “extra” horn on the neck of the animal and the marvellous patterning of spots on its hide.

Pietro Savorelli’s engraving, "Zorobabel", c1805, after Michelangelo

Pietro Savorelli (c1765–1805)

"Zorobabel", c1805, after the fresco lunette by Michelangelo in the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, second plate from the series of eight engravings of the lunettes, published in Rome (c1805) by the Calcografia Romana (1738–1870) as part of a long series on the Sistine vault.

Engraving on heavy wove paper with full margins and the dry/blind stamp/seal of the Calcografia Romana press on the plate mark at lower right as published.

Size: (sheet) 54.5 x 72 cm; (plate) 39.5 x 52.6 cm; (image borderline) 34.3 x 48.5 cm.

Numbered on plate above the image borderline: (centre) “II”.

Lettered on plate within the image: (upper left) “'MICHAEL ANGELVS BONAROTIUS PINXIT”; (upper right) “IN SIXTINO VATICANO SACELLO”; (lower centre) “ZOROBABEL".

Lettered on plate below the image borderline: (centre) “PIO SEPTIMO PONT. OPT. MAX./  Roma Presso la Calcografia Camerale”; (right) “Petrus Savorelli del. et sculp. Romae”.

The British Museum offers a description of this print: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3223681&partId=1&searchText=Pietro+Savorelli&page=1

Condition: richly inked and well-printed impression with full margins as published in near faultless condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains or foxing).

I am selling this huge engraving in near pristine condition for AU$210 (currently US$149.54/EUR129.65/GBP114.59 at the time of this listing). Postage for this print is extra and will be the actual/true cost of shipping.

If you are interested in purchasing this masterwork of engraving in museum quality condition, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

For those wondering about the significance of the prophet named Zorobabel featured in this lunette, according to Wikipedia, he “was a governor of the Persian Province of Judah (Yehud Medinata)” and “laid the foundation of the Second Temple in Jerusalem” (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zerubbabel). As a prophet, Zorobabel, had divine guidance from “the Lord of Hosts” who advised him (according to the Hebrew Bible in “The Prophecy of Haggai”): “I will take you Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, my servant, and wear you like a signet ring; for it is you whom I have chosen” (Haggai 2:23–2:23). Essentially, Zorobabel’s mission was to rebuild the Second Temple following the Lord’s command without deviation.

Jean Pierre Norblin de la Gourdaine’s etching (with drypoint), “The Large Bagpiper”, 1787

Jean Pierre Norblin de la Gourdaine (aka Jean Pierre Norblin de la Gordaine) (1745–1830)

“The Large Bagpiper”, 1787. Note that the word “large” in the title is in reference to the plate size as there is a second etching by Norblin that is is slightly smaller featuring a bagpiper (see BM no. 1853,0312.290: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1533605&partId=1&searchText=norblin+&page=1)

Etching and drypoint on ivory Japanese (wove) paper with small margins and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 9.1 x 6.3 cm; (plate) 8.1 x 5.5 cm

Inscribed on plate in reverse: (upper right) “Norblin fecit Varsovie 1787'.

State ii with added drypoint outline

Hillemacher 1848 27.II

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Standing man playing bagpipes; on white ground; second state, with right arm outlined with drypoint.”

(http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1533770&partId=1&searchText=norblin&page=1)

Condition: richly inked and well-printed impression with small margins (approximately 4 mms) laid onto a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper. The sheet has light staining in the upper left and lower right corners from old glue on the verso otherwise the print is in excellent condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions or foxing).

I am selling this seemingly simple and freely inscribed etching by one of the most important artists of the Enlightenment in Poland for AU$256 (currently US$182.30/EUR158.05/GBP139.69 at the time of posting this print) including 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 small masterwork from the 1700s following in the tradition of Rembrandt, 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

To be honest, I do not know why Norblin chose to portray a chap playing bagpipes, but I doubt that the reason was simply because he liked bagpipe players. From my standpoint, mindful that Norblin’s prints often reference the old masters, I believe that this bagpipe player in his peasant dress addresses the recurrent theme in the 17^th century of showing bagpipers as figures connected with bawdy reveling. If I may go further with this proposal, the fact that the piper looks backwards instead of forwards may also add to this idea of him being more than JUST a music maker. After all, the more common way of portraying folk of dubious character is to show them looking sneakily over their shoulder at the mayhem that they have caused. 

Odoardo Fialetti’s etching, “A Satyr with a Jawbone Striking a Lion who attacks a Man”, c1625

Odoardo Fialetti (1573–1626/27)

“A Satyr with a Jawbone Striking a Lion who attacks a Man” (TIB title), c1625, from the series of ten plates (including the titlepiece), “Vertical Grotesques” (aka “Disegni varii di Polifilo Zancarli”), after Polifilo Giancarli (fl.c.1620–57) (“Disegni varii di Polifilo Zancarli”), possibly published by Tasio Giancarli (fl.1625) in Venice.

Etching with plate tone on laid paper with small margins backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 25.4 x 16.4 cm; (plate) 23.9 x 15 cm; (image borderline) 22.4 x 14.7 cm

Inscribed on plate below the image borderline: (left) ”Poliphilvs Giancarli In.”; (right) “OF [monogram] inci”

State i (of i)

TIB 38.49 (Sebastian Buffa [ed.) 1983, “The Illustrated Bartsch: Italian Artist of the Sixteenth Century”, vol. 38, p. 239); Bartsch XVII.280.49; Berlin 1939 559 (P Jessen 1939, “Katalog der Ornamentstichsammlung der Staatlichen Kunstbibliothek Berlin”, Berlin).

The Rijksmuseum offers the following description of this print:

(transl.) “The lower body of the man who gets bitten ends in a leaf with flowers. Leaf from series of 10 sheets with vertical panels full of foliage, figures and animals.”

(http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.460142)

See also the description of this print at the British Museum:

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1448971&partId=1&searchText=Odoardo+Fialetti+&page=1

Condition: crisp impression showing very little wear to the printing plate in very good condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions but there are a few minor marks commensurate to the age of the print). The sheet has small margins and is laid onto a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper.

I am selling this exceptionally rare etching for AU$350 in total (currently US$249.95/EUR217.90/GBP191.78 at the time of posting this listing) including 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 early masterpiece of ornamental design, 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

Although I often stumble into the dangerous territory of making broad generalisations, I feel compelled once again to propose a sweeping statement that helps to explain the slightly silvery quality of this rather beautiful etching … (hold your breath for a second as I make a statement that I will probably regret in the future): Italian printmakers and draughtsmen in the 16^th and 17^th centuries tended to use organic based blacks which lends their artworks a greyish tonality compared to the German artists of the same period who tended to use mineral based blacks which gives their artworks strong tonal contrasts.

Now that I’ve made my very arguable proposal, this print is not an impression taken from a worn plate, but rather it is an impression made with a greyish coloured ink. If I may go a little further with very debatable generalisations—and this time I fully expect to be hauled over hot coals—Italian printmakers tend to be less fastidious in the way that they ink and pull their prints compared to the German printmakers of this time period. This leaning not to care too much helps to explain the curiously interesting thumb print of the printmaker that may be seen on the left arm of the chap being attacked by the lion. Lack of concern, also helps to explain the crumbled edge on the left side of this impression that signals (at least to me) that the press pressure was not adjusted perfectly.

(My apologies if my sweeping statements are too sweeping.) 

Raphael Sadeler I’s etching (with engraving), “Landscape with a Chapel”, c1590

Raphael Sadeler I (1560/61–1628/32)

“Landscape with a Chapel” (Rijksmuseum title) (aka “Mountain Landscape with a Wooden Bridge and a Chapel on a Rock’ [TIB title]), c1590, after a drawing by Paul Bril (c1553/4–1626) in the Duke of Devonshire Collection, Chatsworth.

Etching and engraving on fine laid paper backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 26.3 x 33.7 cm; (plate) 206 x 27.4 cm; (image borderline) 19.8 x 27.3 cm

Inscribed on plate within the image borderline: (lower right) “P Bril inuent: R. Sadeler scalp.”

TIB 7101.200 (Isabelle de Ramaix [ed.] 2006, ‘The Illustrated Bartsch: Raphael Sadeler I”, vol. 71, Part 1 [Supplement], Abaris Books, p. 287); Nagler 1835–52, no. 138, 2; Le Blanc, no. 125; Wurzbach, no. 125, 2; Hollstein 1980, vol. 21, no. 218; Edquist, p. 319, no. 48a.

The Rijksmuseum offers the following description of this print:

(transl.) “A hilly landscape with a wooden bridge in the foreground. Two travelers walk towards a chapel on the right in the background.”

(http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.168902)

State i (of i) Note: the crisp linework with no sign of wear to the plate suggests that this is a lifetime or an early impression.

Condition: richly inked and in excellent condition (apart from a patch of restoration in the upper margin) with generous margins. The sheet has been laid onto a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper.

I am selling this museum quality impression—radiant with strong contrasts of light and dark—that literally invites the eye to stroll along the portrayed pathways into the far distance, for AU$345 in total (currently US$246.53/EUR213.96/GBP188.14 at the time of posting this listing) including 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 early masterpiece of landscape etching (with engraving), 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

What I love about 17^th century landscapes, like this superb example, is that the context in which they were created helped to shape the meanings that they project. For instance, the composition of this print is based on a drawing by Paul Bril whose underpinning interest in landscape fits into the tradition of “Weltlandschaft”/ “World Landscape” (i.e. to portray a landscape from a great height as if the view were a crystallisation of the cosmos complete with allegorical narratives), the period style of Mannerism (i.e. a leaning to portray the landscape with a theatrical touch) and the notion of the landscape as having an inner soul of natural forces—a way of looking at landscape termed “Lady Landscape”. Mixed into this contextual brew helping to shape this landscape is Raphael Sadeler’s personal leaning to the 17^th century notion of “Quietism” (i.e. creating spiritually tranquil scenes replete with vanitas and memento mori symbolic moral guides—for example, the broken tree trunks in the foreground, the path with a dangerously frail bridge and the spotlit chapel with ringing bells on the escarpment).

Antoine Duruisseau’s crayon-manner (stipple) etching, “La Tete Vue de Face”, 1788

Antoine Duruisseau (1754-1800)

“La Tete Vue de Face” (as titled on plate), 1788, after a drawing by Philippe-Louis Parizeau (1740-1801), published by Jacques Chéreau (1688–1776)—as Chéreau had passed away in 1776 and the design for this print was executed in 1788 (as inscribed on the plate) I presume that Chéreau’s name as the publisher is with regard to his publishing house under the direction of Charpentier.

Crayon Manner stipple etching printed in sanguine on laid paper with margins (as published?) backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 29.6 x 42.1 cm; (plate) 24.8 x 37.3 cm; (image borderline) 23.7 x 36.7 cm

Numbered on plate within the image borderline: (upper left corner) “me / 2” [?]; (upper right corner) “IIIe. Cahier / B”; indexed on plate with numbers on left face from “1” to “5”.

Lettered on plate within the image borderline: (lower centre) “LA TETE VUE DE FACE/ Il faut commencer …/ …/ …/ … cela donne la largeur du Col.”; (lower left corner) “Ph. L. Parizeau Del 1788.”; (lower right corner) “L. F. Duruisseau Scu[…].”

Lettered on plate below the image borderline: (centre) “J. Chereau Exc.”

Condition: good impression but with surface dustiness, handling marks, flattened folds and a replenished hole in the forehead of the centre face. The sheet has been laid onto a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper.

I am selling this late 18^th century stipple etching used by art students as an instructional study for understanding the proportions of the facial features, for AU$92 in total (currently US$65.50/EUR56.93/GBP49.99 the time of posting this listing) including 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 curious etching designed to replicate the coarse texture of a crayon drawing through lines of very fine dots, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

While I was examining the proportions proposed by this instructional study and shaking my head that the width of the mouth seems too short—usually the width of a mouth is the equivalent size to the gap between the centrepoint of the subject’s eyes—the thought occurred to me that the artist may not wrong. I might be wrong … heaven forbid! Indeed, the ideal mouth for ladies in the 18^th century might have been small. Perhaps too small to munch properly on a scone! Even the width of the faces seems very odd to me—usually the space between the eye and the ear should be around a half of the width of an eye. Again, however, the ideal 18^th century woman must have had a very round face.