Albert Flamen’s etching, “View of Fauxbourg St. Leonard”, c1660

Albert Flamen (aka Albert Flamand; Albert Flaman; Aellert Flamen; Bartolet) (1620–92)

“View of Fauxbourg St. Leonard” (aka “Veue du Fauxbourg St. Leonard. A Corbeil”), c1660, from the series, “Different Views in the Vicinity of Paris (aka “Veue de diuerses paisage au naturel d’alentour de Paris.”)

Etching on laid paper trimmed to the image borderline (with the title and publication details removed) and slightly within the borderline on the left side.

Size: (sheet) 8.7 x 16.8 cm

State ii (of ii)

TIB (1986) 6 (Commentary) .539 S2 (p. 404); Robert-Dumesnil (1835) .503/.539 (Note: TIB has a discrepancy in the concordance between the R-D number for this print shown on page 402 [vol. 6: Commentary] and R-D number shown on page 458).

See also the description of this print at Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco: https://art.famsf.org/albert-flamen/view-fauxbourg-st-leonard-different-views-vicinity-paris-19633031477

For excellent information about Flamen and the prints that he made in this series, see Corpus Artistique Étampois: http://www.corpusetampois.com/cae-17-flamen1664longuetoise.html

Condition: crisp and richly inked impression, trimmed to image borderline—slightly within the borderline on the left side—and laid onto a conservator’s support sheet of washi paper.

I am selling this rare etching by Flamen for AU$128 (currently US$101.61/EUR85.99/GBP78.00 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this superb 17^th century landscape capturing a grand vision with breadth and space, 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

Not very much is known about Flamen and even where he was born and the dates of his birth and death are based on conjecture rather than irrefutable documentary evidence.

For instance, the famous printmaker and publisher, Pierre-François Basan (1723–97), was the first to propose that Flamen was born in Bruges. Sadly his proposal was not backed up with any evidence apart from Flamen’s surname seeming to be “right” for someone living in Bruges. With similar ease, Basan determined that the date of Flamen’s birth would be 1564.

Based on the circumstantial information including the dates of Flamen’s activity as a printmaker— interestingly, Flamen did not make prints after 1669—academics now believe that 1620 is more likely to be his birthdate and his death is now proposed to be 1692.

Even these details are a tad hazy as the main source of biographical details about Flamen is based upon GK Nagler’s proposition in “Kunstler-Lexicon” (see vol. 5, p. 25) that the artist responsible is “a certain A. Flamand, a draughtsman and painter of landscapes who worked for the manufactury [sic] of gobelns in c.1650 may be identical with Albert Flamen” (TIB, vol. 6 [Commentary], p. 209).

Albert Flamen’s etching, “Querquedula. Cercelle” (The Teal)

Albert Flamen (aka Albert Flamand; Albert Flaman; Aellert Flamen; Bartolet) (1620-1692)

“Querquedula. Cercelle” (The Teal), 17^th century (Note: The British Museum dates this print between1635–69 and the Rijksmuseum dates it between 1648–92), from the series of 12 plates, “Livre d'Oiseaux” (A Book of Birds)

Etching (with engraving and drypoint?) on laid paper with margins.

Size: (sheet) 15.1 x 25.1 cm: (plate) 10 x 20.5 cm

Inscribed within the image: (lower left) “AB Flamen Sc.”

Lettered below the image borderline: (centre) “Querquedula. Cercette.”

Bartsch (1980) 6 (5). 83 (183) (p. 296); Robert-Dumesnil 1835-71 V.201.404 (Le peintre-graveur français, ou catalogue raisonné des estampes gravées par les peintres et les dessinateurs de l'école française : ouvrage faisant suite au peintre-graveur de Bartsch, Georges Duplessis, A.P.F. Robert-Dumesnil, p. 201, cat.nr. 404)

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Four teals on a large river, another one plunging and a sixth one flying off, reed-mace in the lower left corner, some houses in the background to the left, a tower in the background to the right; from a series of twelve prints showing birds. Etching” (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1665149&partId=1&searchText=flamen+teal&page=1) see also the description offered by the Rijksmuseum (http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.110098)  

Condition: crisp impression in near pristine condition.

I am selling this rare etching by Flamen for AU$134 (currently US$102.86/EUR96.77/GBP82.41 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this remarkable 17th century study of ducks print by an artist famed for emblem prints with unforgettable titles (see a sample of titles in the discussion of this 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

I can easily understand why collectors are passionate about Flamen’s prints, especially his emblem prints, as some of their titles are so inviting to contemplate. For example:

- “Man attacked by ball-shaped animal” (TiB 0608.415);

- “Man surprised by cone-shaped meteor” (TiB 0608.417);

- “Two figures asleep in moonlight with swarming bees” (TiB 0608.426);

- “Birds resting on the heads of three men at a banquet” (TiB 0608.229);

- “Caterpillars dropping on man under tree” (TiB 0608.418);

- “Nude counting drops of blood” (TiB 0608.270);

- “Monstrous fish on tree branch in moonlight” ((TiB 0608.465);

(Note: For those wishing to see the relevant prints, the bracketed references show the catalogue raisonné numbers in “The Illustrated Bartsch” [1986] vol. 6 [commentary])

After reading these title I can imagine that Flamen's wit must have made him popular at parties. Sadly, his personal life is a bit of a mystery as there is no documentary evidence to pin point the date or his place of birth. Nevertheless, his surname is Flemish and I understand that a few of his early drawings substantiate this idea. Interestingly, CJ Nagler in “Küstler-Lexicon” proposes that Flamen (or at least “a certain A. Flamand”) was “a draughtsman and painter of landscapes who worked … [in the manufacture] of goblins c. 1650” (vol. 5, p. 25). This information about his possible day-job makes the vision of the world captured in his prints completely feasible. I love the idea of Flamen constructing goblins!

When I was looking through Flamen’s prints I came across his vision of the New Guinea’s most famous bird that I have previously discussed in relation to Ridinger’s “Paradise” suite of etchings. Although he did more than one print of it (viz. “Bird of Paradise” [TIB 0608.324] and “Two Birds of Paradise” [TIB 0608.206]) the verses inscribed on the plates reveal the fascinating misconception of the time that these birds never landed on earth—“Unaware of contamination on earth”—but flew forever in the heavenly realm and even raised their chicks on their backs—“My nest is the body of the one I love” (see TIB pp. 266 & 326). In short, there is a storehouse of 17^th century beliefs, customs and ways of thinking waiting to be explored in Flamen’s prints. He is an amazing artist!

Regarding Flamen’s approach to making prints, according to Nagler: “Flamen first etched his sheets and then finished them lightly and delicately with the burin and in drypoint, in the manner of Hollar” (ibid).