Marcantonio Bellavia, “A River God Sitting on His Urn and Holding an Oar in His Left Hand”, c.1670

Marcantonio Bellavia (fl. 1668–1670)

“A River God Sitting on His Urn and Holding an Oar in His Left Hand” (TIB title) (aka “Autre fleuve. Il est assis sur son urne, et tient une rame de la main gauche”; “River God Watching Pan Pursuing Syrinx”), c.1670 (1660–1680), incorrectly inscribed as being after the design by Annibale Carracci (1560–1609). Regarding the inscribed attribution to Annibale Carracci, the British Museum advises: “His plates are all from his own designs, although later publishers added the name of the Carracci to many of them” (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG19083).

Etching on laid paper with a small margin around the platemark.

Inscribed in plate: (lower left edge)  “A.c. IN.”; (lower right corner) “\[B]III” (possibly the artist’s initials in reverse [“MB”], but I understand that the artist’s monogram is often “MAB” or “MABI”)

Size: (sheet) 12.6 x 12.1 cm; (plate) 26.5 x 16.8 cm;.

TIB 44.50 (Paolo Bellini & Mark Carter Leach [eds.] 1983, “The Illustrated Bartsch: Italian Masters of the Seventeenth Century”, vol. 44, New York, Abaris Books, p. 54, cat. no. 50).

Condition: a strong and well-printed impression. Beyond remnants of mounting verso, the sheet is in an excellent condition, free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, or significant stains.

Price & Shipping: AU$366 in total (approximately US$239.65 / €207.61 / £182.19), including worldwide express shipping. Please note that import duties are the buyer's responsibility.

If you are interested in purchasing this bold etching of a mythological river god watching the attempted seduction of the nymph Syrinx by Pan, 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