Raoul Vion, “Justice and Divine Vengeance Pursuing Crime”, 1914, after Pierre-Paul Prud'hon

Raoul Vion (active 1909–1930)

“Justice and Divine Vengeance Pursuing Crime” (“La Justice et la Vengeance Divine poursuivant le Crime”), 1914 

Technical Details & Condition:

Multi-colour lithograph (pale blue, red, yellow, and black) executed in the “crayon-manner,” printed on heavy buff wove paper with exceptionally wide margins.

This impression features a dynamic, textured ink-spattering effect in the light blue background. Interestingly, this background treatment varies significantly from the lithograph held by the Yale University Art Museum, which shows a less extensive spread of this light blue stippling (see https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/309840).

While definitive publisher documentation is absent, the presence of a faint ink offset on the reverse side indicates a rapid, small-batch printing. This technique is highly characteristic of ephemeral wartime posters produced under urgent conditions.

The impression is strong, evenly inked, and well-pressed. The sheet is in pristine condition—entirely free of tears, pinholes, folds, abrasions, stains, or handling marks.

Historical Iconography & Context:

As inscribed in the plate/stone, the lithograph is based on a design by Pierre-Paul Prud'hon (1758–1823), who frequently employed patriotic, highly classical motifs featuring winged victories, Marianne-like figures, and Roman military iconography during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras.

Produced at the immediate outbreak of World War I, Vion repurposes Prud'hon’s classic theme of divine retribution to address the geopolitical crisis of 1914:

• The Allegory: Flying at the upper centre are two winged figures representing Justice and Vengeance. One brandishes a flaming torch while the other wields a dagger.
• Wartime Symbols: The figures carry national banners, most notably the British Union Jack emblazoned with the pivotal date “1914.”
• The Villain: Fleeing beneath them is a caricature of an angst ridden Kaiser Wilhelm II, clutching a bared sabre.
• The Landscape: The composition unfolds across an ominous landscape—flanked by a hopeful rising sun on the far left, contrasted against the red glow of a setting sun illuminating battlefield crosses on the right.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 57.5 x 47 cm
• Image area (approximately): 36 x 26.5 cm

In-Plate Lettering:

• Upper left (on flag): “1914”
• Lower right: “Raoul Vion 1914 / Inspiré du tableau / de Prud'hon [Inspired by Prud'hon's painting]”

Price & Shipping:
AU$226 (approximately US$159.08 / €137.95 / £119.32), including worldwide express shipping. Please note that import duties and taxes (if applicable) are the buyer’s responsibility.

To acquire this rare and large poster in pristine condition from the World War I, please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a smooth, protected transaction.

This print has been sold

Samuel Cousins, “Pomona”, 1882, after John Everett Millais

Samuel Cousins (1801–1887)

“Pomona”, 1882, after the painting of the same name by John Everett Millais (1829–1896) (see https://www.wikiart.org/en/john-everett-millais/pomona)

Technical Details & Condition:

This print employs mixed intaglio techniques—mezzotint, etching, engraving, aquatint (?) and stipple engraving—on cream chine collé on wove paper. It is hand-signed in pencil by both John Everett Millais, the artist of the original painting, and Samuel Cousins, the printmaker. Additionally, it bears the dry stamp of the Printsellers’ Association at the lower left. 

Published in London by Arthur Tooth (active 1868–1976) and The Fine Art Society (est. 1876), this impression is a first-state proof, showing the publication details inscribed in tiny lettering above the image border, prior to the second-state lettering—see a previously listed second-state impression that has now sold: https://www.printsandprinciples.com/2017/03/samuel-cousins-etching-with-other.html. 

This is a strong, crisp, and well-printed impression. The sheet has been professionally backed with archival-quality washi paper to support a small, closed tear in the lower left margin. Aside from the tear and some minor marks, the sheet is in good condition with no holes, folds, or significant stains. 

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 55 x 41
• Plate: 54.6 x [51.5?] cm
• Chine collé: 52.6 x 38.8 cm
• Image borderline: 45.5 x 33.2 cm

In-Plate Lettering:

• Above the image borderline at centre: “London, Published Oct, 2^nd, 1882 by Arthur Tooth & Sons. 5 & 6, Haymarket. S. W. & The Fine Art Society New Bond Street, Copyright Registered Entered according to Act of Congress in the Year 1882 by Mess^rs Knoedler & C^o. in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.”

References:

• Whitman 220 (Alfred Whitman 1904, “Nineteenth Century Mezzotiners: Samuel Cousins”, London, George Bell & Sons)
• British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1952-0211-5

Price & Shipping:
AU$688 (approximately US$484.64 / €420.62 / £363.60), including worldwide express shipping. Please note that import duties and taxes (if applicable) are the buyer’s responsibility.

To acquire this rare, pencil-signed masterwork of nineteenth-century printmaking—a first-state proof of exceptional rarity—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a smooth, protected transaction.

Romeyn de Hooghe, “Accused by the Devil”, 1694

Romeyn de Hooghe (also known as Romeijn de Hooge, or his satirical pseudonym, Gisling) (1645–1708)
“Accused by the Devil”—Plate 21 from the series, “Art of Dying Well” (also known as “Mirror for a Good Death”), 1694

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on laid paper, trimmed slightly irregularly around the image border. The print has been professionally mounted on a backing sheet of archival-quality washi paper, providing support and generous margins. 

Plate 21 is part of a series of forty-two plates initially published in Antwerp in 1673, later reissued in 1694 and 1700 by G. Gallet as illustrations to David de la Vigne’s “La manierè de se bien préparer à la mort par des considérations sur la Cène, la Passion, et la Mort de Jesus-Christ” (How to Prepare Well for Death through Reflections on the Last Supper, the Passion, and the Death of Jesus Christ).

The scene depicts the devil attempting to deceive a dying man, urging him away from a righteous life, while an angel offers warnings of the demon’s treacherous intent. Anchoring the biblical theme, the upper left includes a painting portraying the High Priest Caiaphas judging Jesus for blasphemy—paralleling the devil’s role. The accompanying explanatory text (see page 44 in the 1700 edition, where this etching appears as a reversed copy: https://archive.org/details/b30408453/page/44/mode/2up) cites Matthew 26:66: “Qu’en jugez-vous? Ils répondirent: il a mérité la mort” (“What do you think? They answered, He is worthy of death”).

This impression is richly inked, crisp, and well-printed—most likely a lifetime impression, as evidenced by the high quality of the line work, with no signs of wear to the plate. The sheet is in excellent condition, free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, or significant stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 19.3 x 15 cm
• Image borderline: 19 x 14.7 cm

In-Plate Lettering:

• Upper left: “21”
• Lower centre: “R: d H: f:”

References:

• Landwehr 27 (John Landwehr, Romeyn de Hooghe as Book Illustrator, Amsterdam, Vangendt & Co., 1970, p. 79, cat. no. 27)

Price & Shipping:
AU$292 (approximately US$205.85 / €178.58 / £154.34), including worldwide express shipping. Please note that import duties and taxes (if applicable) are the buyer’s responsibility.

To acquire this striking Baroque etching—depicting angels and demons battling for the soul of a dying man, with faith and salvation hanging on his response to the framed image of Jesus before the High Priest—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I’m happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a smooth, protected transaction.

This print has been sold

Miquel Segui i Riera, “La Lecture”, 1887, after Mariano Fortuny

Miquel Segui i Riera (1858–1923)

“La Lecture” (The Reading), 1887, etching after Mariano Fortuny (also known as Mariano José María Bernardo Fortuny y Marsal and Mariano José María Bernardo Fortuny y Carbo) (1838–1874)

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on buff wove paper with wide margins professionally conserved with a washi paper support sheet.

This original etching is a translation of Mariano Fortuny’s pen and ink drawing, “A Gentleman Reading”, which is preserved in the permanent collection of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (https://artuk.org/discover/artists/fortuny-y-marsal-mariano-jose-maria-bernardo-18381874). The print belongs to a celebrated series of reproductive etchings after Fortuny's paintings and drawings. It was published in Barcelona in 1887 by the Centro Editorial Artístico de Torres y Seguí—a premium publishing house founded by the printmaker himself, Miquel Seguí i Riera. The plate was issued as a luxury full-page insert for Francesc Miquel i Badia’s definitive biographical and critical monograph, “Fortuny: su vida y obras: estudio biográfico-crítico”. The complete archival volume may be viewed via the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Digital Repository (https://ddd.uab.cat/record/72609), with this specific plate reproduced directly here: https://ddd.uab.cat/pub/llibres/1887/72609/fortuny_a1887@mnac_75.jpg

The impression is crisp, strong and well-printed. Aside from minor creases in the margin at lower right that are supported by the backing sheet, the etching is in excellent condition free of tears, holes, losses, abrasions or stains.

Note: The British Museum holds a photomechanical photogravure of Fortuny’s composition lettered “Photogravure Goupil & Cie. - Fac simile”—see https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1874-0711-2838. Unlike Goupil's purely mechanical transfer, Seguí i Riera’s version is a true hand-etched translation. He manually worked the copper plate with an etching needle to recreate Fortuny's vibrant cross-hatching, adding a facsimile “Fortuny” signature to credit the master's original design.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 31.8 x 23.9 cm
• Platemark: 21.7 x 14.8 cm
• Image borderline: 17.8 x 12.3 cm

In-Plate Lettering:

• Below the image borderline at lower centre: “La Lectura”
• Within the image borderline at lower right: “Fortuny”

Price & Shipping:

AU$247 (approx. US$174.13 / €151.06 / £130.57), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if applicable) are the buyer’s responsibility.

To acquire this finely executed translation of Fortuny’s drawing into etched line, please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I’m happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a smooth, protected transaction.

This print has been sold