Prints and Principles

Most of the recent posts give details about individual prints and earlier posts discuss some of the subtle principles guiding artists in making images meaningful and memorable. For prints that are unsold, click "Items still available for sale" below. All other prints are no longer available. My contact email is oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com and my Instagram username is @printsandprinciples. I have created a separate blog to show my own work: https://printsandprinciplesjamesbrown.blogspot.com

Wednesday, 5 November 2025

Raphael Sadeler, “Saint Arnulf (Arnoul) of Metz”, 1598, after Maarten de Vos

Raphael Sadeler I (1560/61–1628/32)

“Saint Arnulf (Arnoul) of Metz” (TIB title), 1598, engraving after a drawing by Maarten de Vos (aka Maarten de Vos; Maerten de Vos) (1532–1603) in the Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin (inv. 79B17, pl. 5). Plate 12, from a series of twenty-five engravings and the title plate, “Trophies of the Solitary Life” (aka “Trophaeum Vitae Solitariae”; “Het deugdzame leven van kluizenaars” [The Virtuous Life of Hermits]) with privilege granted for its publication by Clement VIII and the German emperor, Rudolf II of Habsburg. This is a lifetime impression from the first state before the plate number is effaced in the second state.

Engraving on laid paper with the watermark of an anchor in a circle with a collector’s ink stamp verso, backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 25.2 x 28.6 cm; (plate) 16.9 x 20.8 cm; (image borderline) 15.4 x 20.8 cm.

Inscribed in plate within the image borderline: (lower right) "Vos fig. R Sadeler Scalpsit cu[m] grat. Et priuil. S. Po[n]t:”

Lettered below the image borderline in two columns of two lines of Latin: " Exuit ARNVLPHVS …/ …// 12// …/ … mira facit.”

State i (of ii)

TIB 7101. 120 S1 (Isabelle de Ramaix 2006, “The Illustrated Bartsch”, vol. 71, Part 1 [Supplement], New York, Abaris Books, p. 166, cat. no. [7101].120 S1); Sénéchal 1987, no. 29; Hollstein 1980, vol. 21, no. 138; Hollstein 1995–96, vol. 44, no. 1036.

See also the description of this print offered by the British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1958-0712-206.

Regarding biographical details about Saint Arnulf, Isabelle de Ramaix (2001) advises: “Arnulf, became bishop of Metz (France) about 611. He retired ca. 626 to a hermitage in the Vosges mountains, later the monastery of Remiremont, where he died” (p. 166).

Condition: a strong and well-printed (museum-quality) impression with wide margins, laid on an archival-quality millennium washi support sheet. Beyond an ink stamp of a previous collector verso and a black dot in the sky at upper left, the sheet is in an excellent condition, free from tears, holes, folds, abrasions, or significant stains.

Price & Shipping: AU$330 (approx. US$214.89 / €186.69 / £164.53), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in purchasing this rare first-state impression of a beautifully crafted and unusual engraving of the hermit saint, St. Arnulf, praying before a crucifix—please note the bishop’s mitre behind the saint, alluding to his former role as the bishop of Metz in northeast France. To inquire, contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com, and I will send you a PayPal invoice for a convenient payment process.

This print has been sold