Valentin Lefebre’s etching, "St Jerome in the Wilderness”, 1682, after Titian

Valentin Lefebre (aka Valentin Le Fevre; Valentin Le Febre; Valentin Lefebure; Valentin Lefèvre) (1637–1677)

"St Jerome in the Wilderness”, 1682, in reverse after Titian’s (1490–1576) painting, “Saint Jerome in Penitence”, 1550–55, in the Pinacoteca di Brera (aka Brera Museum, Milan), published in Venice by Jacobus van Campen (fl.1682) in the series of 53 plates, “Opera selectiora quae Titianus Vecellius Cadubriensis et Paulus Calliari Veronensis inventarunt ac pinxerun.”

Etching on laid paper trimmed along the image borderline with loss of the lines of text below the image and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (support sheet) 46.4 x 33.5 cm.

Lifetime/early impression before burin retouching by Johann Gottfried Seuter (aka Gottifredo Saiter) (1717–1809).

Hollstein 1-53 (F W H Hollstein 1953, “Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts ca. 1450–1700: L'Admiral–Lucas van Leyden”, vol. 10, Amsterdam, Menno Hertzberger, p. 46, cat. no. 1-53); Ruggeri I.15 (Ugo Ruggeri 2001, “Valentin Lefèvre: Dipinti, Disegni, Incisioni”, Manerba, Merigo Art Books, p. 215, cat. no. I. 15).

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“St Jerome in the wilderness, after Titian, with the saint kneeling before a cross, holding a stone in his left hand, his right hand grasping the stone upon which stands the cross; a lion and a lizard at his feet, to left; a skull, an hourglass and several books on a rock behind him, to the right; trees in background.”

(https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1874-1212-316).

The Curator of the British Museum also advises:

“This is a copy in reverse after the painting by Titian, formerly in the Church of Santa Maria Nuova in Venice, but transferred to Milan to the Accademia di Brera” (ibid).

See also the description of this print at the Rijksmuseum:

http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.138870.

Condition: Strong impression trimmed along the image borderline with loss of text below the image and laid onto a support sheet of millennium quality washi paper. The sheet has mellowed with age-toning to a light ochre colour and there are replenished losses to the left edge and upper right corner (almost invisible) and other minor nicks and tears within the image (now restored).

I am selling this large etching full of symbolism—for example, the vanitas symbols of the skull and hourglass behind the saint alluding to the transience of life, the lizard climbing up the rock upon which the saint rests his knee symbolising devilish temptation and the ivy further up the rock may hint at the wood of the cross—for AU$334 (currently US$232.96/EUR205.51/GBP184.82 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 exceptional etching that almost shimmers in the complex rhythms of lines, 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

Circle of Arnold van Westerhout’s etching, “The Transfiguration”, c1690, after Raphael

Unidentified engraver from the circle of Arnold van Westerhout (1651–1725)

Regarding this attribution, note that Carlo Abruzzi (1837) in “Catalogue raisonné des estampes du cabinet de feu m. le comte Léopold Cicognara …”, advises that there are almost twenty translations of Raphael’s famous painting into prints citing “an anonymous student of Raimondi, carrying the address of Salamanca and the date MDXXXVIII, until that of Raphaël Morghen in 1808” (p. 344). My attribution of this print to the circle of Van Westerhout is partly because the dealer from whom I originally purchased this print proposed van Westerhout as the possible etcher and also because Abruzzi offers this artist’s name. Sadly, I do not believe that Van Westerhout is the etcher of this print because his technique is a little cruder than what is exhibited here, nevertheless, the connection is still relevant as may be seen when comparing the  rendering style and the framing borderline employed by Arnold van Westerhout in the etching, “St Paul Preaching” (1680–1704): https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1949-1008-161.

“The Transfiguration”, c1690, after the intermediary drawing by Giovanni Battista Lenardi (1656–1704), after Raphael’s (1483–1520) final painting (1516–20) in the Pinacoteca Vaticana, Vatican City.

Etching and engraving on laid paper, trimmed along the image borderline and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet/outer image borderline) 48.1 x 31.2 cm.

Lettered on plate along the lower borderline frame: (left) “Rafaele d’Vrbino In. e depinse.”; (right) “Gio. Batta Lenar di desegno”.

Condition: well-printed impression with no sign of wear to the printing plate, trimmed along the image borderline and laid onto a support sheet of millennium quality washi paper. There are replenished losses to the edges (see the restored lower left corner and a few nicks to the edges of the borderline otherwise the sheet is in a good condition for its considerable age (i.e. there are no significant stains or foxing).

I am selling this large and strong translation of Raphael’s famous painting into an etching (with engraving) for AU$354 (currently US$246.09/EUR217.67/GBP195.06 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 strong etching after Raphael’s composition, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

William Strang’s etching, "The House in the Lane", 1897

This post is a bit out of the ordinary as I’ve decided to show an etching and painting that I made many years ago—way back in 2008 to be exact—that reference a small soft-ground etching by William Strang, “The House in the Lane”, 1897.

When I purchased William Strang’s print in an on-line auction at the time, my view of it was as a tiny thumbnail-size image in the auction listing. Looking at this small reproduction I thought that I could discern an organic Art Nouveau flow of lines portraying trees and a drawing style reminiscent of Alphonse Legros’ hatched strokes. After receiving the print through the mail, however, the image did not match this mental picture.

On first sight I was dismayed that the organic flow of rhythms I had seen in the thumbnail image was not solely about trees: there was a house that featured strongly. Moreover, it was a house with all the architectural appeal of one of the plastic houses in a Monopoly game. No doubt this house would have held personal significance for Strang, but for me it was an unnecessary intrusion on my wishful vision of what I thought that I had perceived in the reproduction. After several years of harbouring this mental construction of how Strang’s print might have been, I etched and painted “Referencing Strang” to recapture my vision. Using a similar arrangement of subject material as that employed by Strang, I sought to reconfigure Strang’s imagery with the mindset and sensitivities of a contemporary North Queenslander living in the hot tropics. In short, I wished to reconstruct Strang’s print in the way I had originally wanted it to appear. In a sense I guess that my etching and painting based on my initial response to Strang’s print as a miniature reproduction is really a psychological self-portrait that just happens to be a landscape.

William Strang (1859-1921)

"The House in the Lane", 1897, published as the frontispiece to Hans W Singer and William Strang’s “Etching, Engraving and Other Methods of Printing Pictures”, published in London in 1897 by Kegan Paul , Trench, Trüber and Co.

Soft-ground etching with plate tone on laid paper (unsigned).

Size: (sheet) 21 x 15.4 cm; (plate) 15.1 x 10 cm.

Condition: a faultless impression with full margins as published in pristine condition (i.e. there are no tears, folds, holes, losses, abrasions, stains, foxing or signs of use).

I am selling this small (unsigned) etching by Strang for AU$227 (currently US$157.72/EUR139.55/GBP124.96 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 etching used as a exemplary frontispiece illustration on the art of etching, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Philips Galle’s engraving, “Siege of Camolia by Emperor Charles V and Cosimo Medici”, c1582, after Jan van der Straet

Philips Galle (aka Philippe Galle; Philippus Gallaeus; Philippus Galle) (1537–1612)

“Siege of Camolia by Emperor Charles V and Cosimo Medici” (aka “Belegering van Siena”), c1582, published by Philips Galle in Antewerp in 1583 from the series of twenty-one engravings (including the frontispiece), “Mediceae Familiae Rerum Feliciter Gestarum Victoriae et Triumphi“ (aka “The History of the Medici”), with privilege by Philip II (king of Spain), after the design by Jan van der Straet (aka Joannes Stradanus; Johannes Stradanus; Jan van der Straeten; Giovanni Statenensis; Giovanni Stradano; Giovanni della Strada) (1523–1605).

The Rijksmuseum offers the following details about the publication of the series of plates in which this print features:

(Transl.) “This series with representations about the family history of the 'de Medici family consists of three series. Some of the prints were published in 1577. The last four plates are dated 1582. The title page was added later and is dated 1583”

(http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.595129).

This print may be viewed in its context with the other plates as published in 1583 at Archive.org—be certain to click to the print before this engraving in the series to see Hendrick Goltzius’ engraving to enable comparison of engraving techniques with Galle’s print:

https://archive.org/details/gri_33125008440675/page/n21/mode/2up.

Engraving on laid paper trimmed along the platemark and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 22.1 x 30.4 cm.  

Inscribed on plate within image: (upper left of centre) “CAMOLIA”; (upper right of centre) ”SENA”; (lower left) “I”; (lower left of centre) “Johan. Strada./ :nus. inventor./ Phls. Galle fecit”.

Lettered on plate below the image borderline: (left) “Cum privilegio Regis”; (centre in two lines in Latin) “Caroli V Caesaris, …/ ... et presidio Nudant'.

State i (of ii)

TIB 5601.104:44 (Arno Dolders [ed.] 1987, “The Illustrated Bartsch: Netherlandish Artists: Philips Galle”, vol. 56, Supplement, New York, Abaris Books, p. 388, cat. no. [5601].102:5); New Hollstein Dutch 492-1 (2) (Manfred Sellink & Marjolein Leesberg [comp.] 2001, “The New Hollstein : Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts 1450–1700: Philips Galle”, Rotterdam, Sound and Vision, p. 255; p. 299 [ill.], cat. no. 492).

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Plate numbered 1: the battle of Camollia and Siena; night scene; the troops of Charles V and Cosimo de' Medici, seen from behind, laying siege to Camollia and Siena, seen in the background, to left and right respectively”

(https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_Ii-5-157).

See also the description of this print offered by the Rijksmuseum:

http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.490921.

Condition: well-printed early/lifetime impression showing no sign of wear to the printing plate, trimmed along the plate mark and laid onto a support sheet of millennium quality washi paper. The sheet is in an excellent condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, losses, abrasions, stains or foxing).

I am selling this fascinating 16^th century engraving of nightime army manoeuvres showing Cosimo de 'Medici’s army in 1555 heading towards Siena—note the name, ”SENA”, inscribed right-of-centre in the sky—set against the distant siege of Camolia—the name, “CAMOLIA”, is inscribed in the sky left-of-centre—for AU$323 (currently US$224.61/EUR198.83/GBP178.01 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 marvellous and very rare 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

Unidentified engraver after Jan Sadeler I & Maarten de Vos, “Magnificat: The Virgin Surrounded by Music-Making Angels”, c1585–1643

Unidentified engraver from the circle of Jan Sadeler I (aka Johannes Sadeler; Johann Sadeler) (1550–1600)

“Magnificat: The Virgin Surrounded by Music-Making Angels”, c1585–1643, in reverse after Jan Sadeler I’s engraving (c1585) and after Maarten de Vos’ (aka Marten de Vos; Maerten de Vos) (1532–1603) design featuring the sheet music, “Chants de la Vierge (Luc 1, v.46)” (Songs of the Virgin [Luke 1, v.46]), by the Flemish singer and composer, Cornelis Verdonck (1563–1625), published in Antwerp in 1643 by Claes Jansz. Visscher (aka Piscator; Nicolaes Jansz Visscher) (1587–1652) as plate 2 in “Theatrum Biblicum.”

Engraving on laid paper with a small margin around the platemark and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 22.6 x 30.5 cm; (plate) 21 x 29 cm.

Inscribed on plate: (upper centre) the Tetragrammaton (the name of God in square script Hebrew); (lower centre) “Luce I. vers. 46./ COELICOLVM REGI MERITAS DE PROMITE LAVDES/ NAMQ[ue]  PIA DOMINVM VENERARI LAVDE DECORVM EST Psal. 147.”; (lower right) “M.de.Vos in […] Visscher excu. 2”.

TIB 7001.264 CI (Isabelle de Ramaix 2001, “The Illustrated Bartsch: Johan Sadeler I”, vol. 70, Part 2 [Supplement], New York, Abaris Books, p. 62, cat. no. [7001 Johan Sadeler I Fecit] .264 CI).

Condition: well-printed impression (showing no sign of wear to the printing plate) with a small margin around the platemark and laid onto a support sheet of millennium quality washi paper. Beyond a closed tear (almost invisible) in the lower margin, the sheet is in an excellent condition (i.e. there are no holes, folds, losses, abrasions, stains or foxing).

I am selling this remarkable engraving featuring angels playing music—note that the two angels on the left are playing a flute and viol while the two angels on the right play a cornett and viol while two angels further back hold the music, “Songs of the Virgin [Luke 1, v.46]), following the score composed by the contemporary Flemish musician of the time, Cornelis Verdonck—for AU$348 (currently US$243.18/EUR213.97/GBP192.49 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 fascinating engraving of angels making music, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.