Gallery of prints for sale

Monday 31 July 2017

Étienne Delaune’s engraving, “November”, 1568


Étienne Delaune (aka Stephanus) (c1518–83) Note: Delaune signed his prints “Stephanus” or “S. Goldsmith”, hence the initials “S.F.” inscribed in this plate at lower right.

“November” (“Novembre”), 1568, plate 11 from the series of twelve plates, “The Labours of the Months.” The British Museum offers the following description of this series: “A complete set of twelve small scenes depicting a seasonal activity associated with a zodiacal sign; within oval, without frame.” (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1418591&partId=1&searchText=months&people=127338&page=1)

Engraving on fine laid paper.
Size: (sheet) 5.7 x 8 cm; (oval borderline) 5.5 x 7.7 cm
Inscribed within the oval borderline at lower right: “S.F.”
Lettered below the oval borderline: (left) “NOVEMBRE.”; (right) “CVM PRI. REGIS.”

Robert-Dumesnil 1835-71 IX.58.195 (A P F Robert-Dumesnil 1835, “Le Peintre-Graveur Français”, 11 vols.); IFF 198

See the description of this print (with very limited information) at the Rijksmuseum (http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.103046) and Harvard Art Museums (http://www.harvardartmuseums.org/collections/object/142201?person=35170). For more information about prints by Delaune see: http://spaightwoodgalleries.com/Pages/Delaune.html and http://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/engraved-ornament-project/life-and-work-etienne-delaune-1

Condition: well-printed crisp impression trimmed along (or slightly within) the platemark and lined onto a conservator’s support sheet of washi paper. The sheet is in excellent condition apart from minor toning to the upper-right corner.

I am selling this small and finely executed print executed in 1568 for the total cost of AU$298 (currently US$228.26/EUR192.24/GBP164.98 at the time of posting 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 small masterpiece showcasing rural life occurring in November in the 16th century, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.


Many viewers of this print would have no difficulty in recognising the seasonal activities associated with November portrayed here, but sadly, my understanding of 16th century European rural life occurring during this month is far from my experiences of living in tropical Australia. Nevertheless, I assume that the central figure is a swine herdsman whose activity of belting a tree with a rod is presumably to harvest/dislodge fruit or nuts, while the woman shown in the distance cuts what I assume may be sheaves of straw.

What I find particularly curious about this print is the zodiac symbol of Sagittarius—one of the astrological signs for November—shown in the clouds at the top of the composition, as the satyr of Sagittarius seems to be pointing his bow and arrow at the woman cutting the straw below. To be honest, I really do not know the significance of the satyr’s bow being aimed at this lady. Certainly, I am not aware of the Sagittarius satyr ever performing the role of a cupid in shooting arrows of love.

Perhaps I am reading far too much into this composition and what Delune is really showing the viewer is simply an emblem image of November activities without deep allegorical meaning.






Sunday 30 July 2017

Matthäus Merian I’s engraving, “Pierre Pertuise”, 1642


Matthäus Merian I (aka Matthaeus Merian) (1593–1650)
Pierre Pertuise”, 1642, published in Merian's (1642) “Topographia Helvetia Rhaetiae et Valesiae”.

Engraving on fine laid paper with margins (as published).
Size: (sheet) 28.8 x 36.2 cm; (plate) 19.6 x 27 cm; (image borderline) 19.1 x 26.5 cm
Titled in top centre: "PIERRE PERTUISE"
Inscribed above the image borderline at lower left: “IoS. Plep figura[ue?] M. Merian fecit”

Ref: L H Wüthrich 1966, “Das druckgraphische Werk von Matthaeus Merian d.Ae,” 4 vols, Hamburg

Condition: richly inked and faultless impression laid onto a conservator’s support sheet with the original centre fold (as published) seamlessly flattened. There are a few minor spots near the first letter of the title and very faint brown toning on the upper-left side of the bridge but otherwise the print is in excellent/near pristine condition.

I am selling this stunning museum-quality engraving for AU$157 (currently US$125.32/EUR106.78/GBP95.50 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this rare image showing travellers near one of the early wonders of road building in the Swiss Alps—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


According to information about this print offered by Village Antiques: “The image shows the Swiss Alpine passageway between Tavannes and Sonceboz in the Canton of Bern. The man-made or man-enlarged passage way through the Alps, has been considered one of the marvels of the Swiss landscape for centuries. It dates at least to Roman times since an inscription on the North face reads:

‘NUMINI AUGUST(ORUM) VIA D(UCTA) PER M(ARCUM) DUNIUM PATERNUM IIVIR(U)M COL(ONIAE) HELVET(IORUM).’”  

From what I understand, the road is set at an elevation of 827 metres (?) and was built to honour Marcus Duniis Paternus, the Vice Magistrate of the Helvetic Colony (Aventicum).

Interestingly, but not surprising given the beauty of this man-made rock arch/tunnel at Pierre Perthuis, the same viewpoint portrayed by Merian is shown in drawings by artists such as Anthonie Waterloo (1609–90), Lambert Doomer (1624–1700) and Herman Saftleven (1609–85).








Saturday 29 July 2017

Jan Sadeler I’s engraving, “Children of Jupiter (Thursday)”, 1585


Jan Sadeler I (aka Johannes Sadeler; Johann Sadeler) (1550–1600)
“Children of Jupiter (Thursday)” (TIB title), 1585, after a lost drawing by Maarten de Vos (1532–1603), from the series of eight plates, “Planetarum effectus et eorum in signis zodiaci” (Effect of the planets and zodiac signs) (aka “The Seven Planets”), engraved and published by Jan Sadeler I.

Engraving on fine laid paper trimmed close to the image borderline.
(sheet) 21.2 x 24.2 cm
Titled in top centre on the rainbow: " IVPITER"; above, to the left: the zodiac symbols for Sagittarius; to the right: the zodiac symbols for Pisces.
Lettered within the image borderline in two lines: (lower left) “Ioan. Sadler scalp. et excud / M. de Vos figurauit.”

TIB 2003 70 Part 3 (Supplement) 7001.481 (pp. 77–78); Nagler 1835–52, no. 167; Le Blanc, no. 173; Wurzbach, no. 140.4; Hollstein 1980, vo. 21, no. 520; Edquist, p. 94, no. 111a; Hollstein 1995–96, vol. 44, no. 1383.

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:
“Jupiter holding lightning bolts rides in a chariot drawn by two eagles on clouds in the sky; below an extensive landscape with a myriad of buildings and small rocky islands; zodiac signs of Sagittarius and Pisces in ovals in top corners … after Maarten de Vos. 1585” (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1550341&partId=1&searchText=Planetarum+effectus+et+eorum+in+signis+zodiaci&page=1)

Condition: crisp and well-printed impression trimmed to thread margins around the image borderline. There are a few minor spots/restorations, otherwise the sheet is in excellent condition.

I am selling this rare and beautiful engraving for AU$332 (currently US$265/EUR225.79/GBP201.96 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this important print—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


There is a theory about why the ancients envisaged that their gods lived in the sky which I wish to share. Sadly, I would like to give credit to the correct source as the theory is not my own, but my memory has fallen short with who concocted it. … My apologies to the theorist!

The reason for gods being in the sky (according to the theory) is all because of the way that the stars shift their positions through the evening in the northern hemisphere. In short, I am told (forgive me if I am incorrect) that sky watching observers at night see the stars move in concentric rings around the pole star—the star that navigators use to signal geographical north because it doesn’t shift its position. This slow spinning motion is proposed to have created in the mind of the ancient sky-watchers the idea that the sky was like a cone of space with the pole star being the furthest away pinnacle point—heaven.

Interestingly, in the southern hemisphere (where I live) we don’t have the equivalent of a pole star and the stars seem to move across the sky as if in a barrel roll. The consequence of the southern ancients NOT seeing a cone shape void in the sky but rather a sliding movement from one side to the other is that heaven for the southern ancients is on earth; or I should qualify this to be not so much on the surface features as the spiritual realm within the earth.






Jan Sadeler I’s engraving, “Children of the Sun (Sunday)”, 1585


Jan Sadeler I (aka Johannes Sadeler; Johann Sadeler) (1550–1600)
“Children of the Sun (Sunday)” (TIB title), 1585, after a lost drawing by Maarten de Vos (1532–1603), from the series of eight plates, “Planetarum effectus et eorum in signis zodiaci” (Effect of the planets and zodiac signs) (aka “The Seven Planets”), engraved and published by Jan Sadeler I.

Engraving on fine laid paper trimmed close to the image borderline.
(sheet) 21.3 x 24.2 cm
Titled in top centre on the rainbow: "SOL".
Lettered within the image borderline in two lines: (lower right) “Joan. Sadler scalp. et excud / M. de Vos figura”

TIB 2003 70 Part 3 (Supplement) 7001.477 (pp. 67–68); Nagler 1835–52, no. 167; Le Blanc, no. 173; Wurzbach, no. 140; Hollstein 1980, vo. 21, no. 518; Edquist, p. 95, no. 119b; Hollstein 1995–96, vol. 44, no. 1381.

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:
“Sol riding on a chariot drawn by four horses in the clouds in top part, various ceremonies take place below including the crowning of a king, the anointing of a pope, triumphal procession through arch etc; zodiac sign of Leo in oval in top centre; after Maarten de Vos. 1585” (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3045906&partId=1&searchText=Planetarum+effectus+et+eorum+in+signis+zodiaci&page=1)

Condition: crisp and well-printed impression trimmed to thread margins around the image borderline. There are a few very minor spots/abrasions, otherwise the sheet is in excellent condition.

I am selling this rare and beautiful engraving for AU$332 (currently US$265/EUR225.79/GBP201.96 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this important print—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







Friday 28 July 2017

Jan Sadeler I’s engraving, “Children of Saturn (Saturday)”, 1585


Jan Sadeler I (aka Johannes Sadeler; Johann Sadeler) (1550–1600)
“Children of Saturn (Saturday)” (TIB title), 1585, after a lost drawing by Maarten de Vos (1532–1603), from the series of eight plates, “Planetarum effectus et eorum in signis zodiaci” (Effect of the planets and zodiac signs) (aka “The Seven Planets”), engraved and published by Jan Sadeler I.

Engraving on fine laid paper trimmed close to the image borderline.
(sheet) 21.3 x 24.3 cm

Titled in top centre on the rainbow: "SATVRNVS"; above, to the left: the zodiac symbols for Capricorn; to the right: the zodiac symbols for Aquarius.
Lettered within the image borderline: (lower right) “Ioan. Sadler scalp. et excud."and “M. de Vos figurauit."

TIB 2003 70 Part 3 (Supplement) 7001.483 (pp. 80–81); Nagler 1835–52, no. 167; Le Blanc, no. 173; Wurzbach, no. 140; Hollstein 1980, vo. 21, no. 521; Edquist, p. 94, no. 113b; Hollstein 1995–96, vol. 44, no. 1384.

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:
“Saturn holding a scythe and sitting in a chariot drawn by two dragons on the clouds in the sky, an extensive landscape below with figures mining; zodiac signs of Aries and Aquarius in ovals in top corners; after Maarten de Vos.  1585” (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3045937&partId=1&searchText=Planetarum+effectus+et+eorum+in+signis+zodiaci&page=1)

Condition: crisp and well-printed impression trimmed to thread margins around the image borderline. The sheet is in excellent condition.

I am selling this rare and beautiful engraving for AU$332 (currently US$264.58/EUR226.06/GBP202.29 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this important print—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, “Children of Mercury (Wednesday)”, 1585


Jan Sadeler I (aka Johannes Sadeler; Johann Sadeler) (1550–1600)
“Children of Mercury (Wednesday)” (TIB title), 1585, after a lost drawing by Maarten de Vos (1532–1603), from the series of eight plates, “Planetarum effectus et eorum in signis zodiaci” (Effect of the planets and zodiac signs) (aka “The Seven Planets”), engraved and published by Jan Sadeler I.

Engraving on fine laid paper trimmed close to the image borderline.
(sheet) 21.2 x 24.2 cm
Titled in top centre on the rainbow: " MERCVRIVS"; above, to the left: the zodiac symbols for Libra; to the right: the zodiac symbols for Virgo.
Lettered within the image borderline: (lower right) “Ioan. Sadler scalp. et excud."and “M. de Vos figurauit."

TIB 2003 70 Part 3 (Supplement) 7001.480 (pp. 76–77); Nagler 1835–52, no. 167; Le Blanc, no. 173; Wurzbach, no. 140; Hollstein 1980, vo. 21, no. 523; Edquist, p. 97, no. 113b; Hollstein 1995–96, vol. 44, no. 1386.

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:
“Mercury holding a caduceus and riding in a chariot drawn by two birds on the clouds in the sky, an extensive landscape with a harbour with goods being loaded and unloaded below; zodiac signs of Gemini and Virgo in ovals in top corners … after Maarten de Vos. 1585” (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1550333&partId=1&searchText=Planetarum+effectus+et+eorum+in+signis+zodiaci&page=1)

“The Illustrated Bartsch” offers the following description of this print:
“Helmeted Mercury rides a chariot pulled toward the left by two pigeons” (TIB 2003 70 Part 3 [Supplement], p. 77)

Condition: crisp and well-printed impression trimmed to thread margins around the image borderline. The sheet is in excellent condition apart from a small tear at the middle of the lower edge.

I am selling this rare and beautiful engraving for AU$332 (currently US$264.58/EUR226.06/GBP202.29 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this important print—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






Wednesday 26 July 2017

Jan Sadeler I’s engraving, “Children of Venus (Friday)”, 1585


Jan Sadeler I (aka Johannes Sadeler; Johann Sadeler) (1550–1600)
“Children of Venus (Friday)” (TIB title), 1585, after a lost drawing by Maarten de Vos (1532–1603), from the series of eight plates, “Planetarum effectus et eorum in signis zodiaci” (Effect of the planets and zodiac signs) (aka “The Seven Planets”), engraved and published by Jan Sadeler I.

Engraving on fine laid paper trimmed close to the image borderline.
(sheet) 21.3 x 24.3 cm
Titled in top centre on the rainbow: "VENVS"; above, to the left: Libra and the zodiac symbol for Libra; to the right: Taurus and the zodiac symbol for Taurus.
Lettered within the image borderline: (lower left) “Ioan. Sadler scalp. et excud."; (lower right) “M. de Vos figura."

TIB 2003 70 Part 3 (Supplement) 7001.482 (pp. 79–80); Nagler 1835–52, no. 167; Le Blanc, no. 173; Wurzbach, no. 140; Hollstein 1980, vo. 21, no. 522; Edquist, p. 96, no. 112b; Hollstein 1995–96, vol. 44, no. 1385.

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:
“Venus accompanied by Cupid riding in a chariot drawn by two doves on the clouds in the sky, an extensive landscape with figures enjoying outdoor pursuits below; zodiac signs of Libra and Taurus in ovals in top corners; … after Maarten de Vos.” (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1550337&partId=1&searchText=jan+sadeler+Planetarum+effectus+et+eorum+in+signis+zodiaci+&page=1)

Condition: crisp and well-printed impression trimmed to thread margins around the image borderline. The sheet is in excellent condition apart from a small closed tear at the middle of the lower edge.
I am selling this rare and beautiful engraving for AU$332 (currently US$262.66/EUR225.56/GBP201.26 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this important print—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 stunning engraving featuring a sweeping panorama beneath a scene of Venus and cupid being drawn by chariot across the sky by two turtledoves is the first of six prints from Sadeler’s famous series, “Effect of the planets and zodiac signs” that I will be listing over the next week.

From my standpoint, this print exemplifies the highly disciplined skills possessed by master engravers during the Renaissance period. Note, for instance, how Sadeler has carefully adjusted the tones of the townscape so that darkly shadowed buildings help to accentuate lighter toned buildings in front. See also the way that Sadeler creates a transition from strokes that curve with the contours of the featured subject matter in the foreground to a schematic mix of horizontal and vertical strokes rendering the buildings in the far distance.







Tuesday 25 July 2017

Joachim von Sandrart’s engraving, “Satyrvs et Silenvs”, 1679


Joachim von Sandrart (1606–88)
“Satyrvs et Silenvs” (Satyrs and Silenus), 1679, published in "Teutsche Academie", Nuremberg (see vol. 2 [sculpture], plate 00 [after p. 2]. Sandrart.net offers an online view of all the volumes of “Teutsche Academie” (see http://ta.sandrart.net/en/) and details about the print (see http://ta.sandrart.net/-artwork-773).

Engraving on fine laid paper with margins as published.
(sheet) 37.4 x 24.7 cm; (plate) 32.1 x 22.3 cm; (image borderline) 30.9 x 21.2 cm
Lettered above the image borderline: (left) “SATYRVS et SILENVS”; (right) “00.”

Condition: crisp and well-inked impression with margins as published and in execellent condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, abrasions, folds or foxing but there is a very pale stain at the lower centre margin).

I am selling this large and remarkably well-preserved engraving by one of the most famous of the German old masters—indeed his contribution of creating the first German encyclopaedic treatise on the history of art has earned him the descriptive title of the “German Vasari”—for AU$161 (currently US$127.83/EUR109.62/GBP97.98 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this image of an idyllic scene with the god, Pan, resting contentedly with a quizzical gin below an armless and legless sculpture of Silenus—the unfinished sculpture, “Silen Mattei”, from the Palazzo Mattei di Giove in Rome (?)—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 print is part of the first major German book on art: "Teutsche Academie" published in 1679. Other plates in the three and later expanded to eight volumes of the book offer formal illustrations of historically significant sculptures and architectural features, but this engraving goes beyond such academic concerns by presenting a very relaxed Pan grinning in a state of reverie beneath a literally legless sculpture of Silenus—the most drunken of the followers of Dionysus.