Charles Courtry, “Cossack Horses in Snowy Weather”, 1868, after Aldolf Schreyer

Charles Courtry (also known as Charles Jean Louis Courtry) (1846–1897)

“Cossack Horses in Snowy Weather” (also known as “Chevaux Cosaques par un Temps de Neige” and “Cossack Horses Resting after a Hard March through the Snow”), 1868

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on wove paper, trimmed slightly within the platemark. The sheet has been professionally laid upon a backing sheet of archival-quality washi paper to provide structural support and a clean false margin for conservation presentation.

This is a rare first state (of two) proof impression before lettering for publication in around 1882 in the Spanish magazine “La Ilustración Artística”. The impression is strong, crisp and evenly printed—almost faultless. The composition is based on a painting by the 19th-century German artist Adolf Schreyer (1828–1899). Although Schreyer’s original canvas is unrecorded online, a closely related winter work by the artist—depicting a huddling team of horses hitched to a wagon beside thatched farm structures during a heavy blizzard—is available to view digitally via The Walters Art Museum: https://art.thewalters.org/object/37.88/.

Aside from a faint closed tear in the margin (almost invisible) the sheet remains in an excellent condition with holes, folds, or stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 17.6 x 24.2 cm
• Image borderline: 12.1 x 19.5 cm

Catalogue Reference:

• IFF 8 (Jean Adhémar, “Inventaire du Fonds Français après 1800: Cidoine–Daumier”, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Département des Estampes, vol. 5, 1949, p. 273, cat. no. 8 — Available via Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Gallica): https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5488526m/f285.image

Price & Shipping:

 AU$213 (approximately US$149.42 / €132.98 / £111.46), inclusive of worldwide express shipping. Please note that import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this superb and rare proof-state etching before lettering for publication, please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.

Jacques Callot, “Mors Beatae Virginis Mariae”, c. 1633/4

Jacques Callot (1592–1635)

“Mors Beatae Virginis Mariae” (The Death of the Virgin), c. 1633/4

Contextual Commentary:

This original small 17th-century etching is plate 10 from the celebrated series of fourteen etchings, “Vita et historia beatae Mariae virginis matris Dei” (Life and story of the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of God), published in Paris by Israël Henriet (c. 1590–1661).

The impression is from the second state (of two), featuring the addition of the plate number and publication lettering.

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on laid paper with thread margins around the upper and side edges of the image borderline and retaining the full lower writing edge. The impression is slightly silvery, crisp, and evenly printed. Aside from age toning to the sheet, it remains in excellent antique condition with no tears, holes, folds, or significant stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 6.9 x 4.5 cm
• Image borderline: 6.4 x 4.4 cm

In-Plate Lettering (below the image borderline):

• Centre: “Mors Beatæ Virginis Mariæ / Callot fe. Israel excud.”
• Right: “10”

References:

• Lieure 1367 (Jules Lieure, “Jacques Callot: Catalogue Raisonné de l’Œuvre Gravé”, 1989, San Francisco, Alan Wofsy, vol. 1, p. 81, cat. no. 1367)
• Meaume 86 (Édouard Meaume, “Recherches sur la vie et les ouvrages de Jacques Callot: suite au peintre-graveur français de M. Robert-Dumesnil”, 1860, vol. 1, Paris, J. Renouard, p. 72, cat. no. 86) — available digitally via the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/gri_33125001461884/page/72/mode/2up
• The British Museum: Museum Number 1861,0713.154 — https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1861-0713-154

Price & Shipping:

 AU$328 (approximately US$230.37 / €205.17 / £172.22), inclusive of worldwide express shipping. Please note that import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this remarkable jewel of Baroque printmaking, please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. This work is a masterclass in disciplined precision, showcasing Callot’s innovative use of the échoppe—a specialised etching needle he developed to recreate the swelling lines characteristic of traditional engraving. It also beautifully demonstrates his mastery of the "stopping out" technique, which dynamically balances rich, dark lines in the foreground against delicate tones in the distance.

I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.

This print has been sold 

Anders Zorn, “Portrait of William Ernst Mason”, 1900

Anders Zorn (also known as Anders Leonard Zorn) (1860–1920)

“Portrait of William Ernst Mason”— William Ernst 'Billy' Mason, American senator, 1900

Commentary on the Subject:

The Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa) offers a compelling insight into this portrait: “In her essay 'Anders Zorn's Etched Portraits of American Men, or the Trouble with French Masculinity', Professor Hollis Clayson writes of Zorn's 'signature attainment as a portraitist of prominent American leaders'. She looks closely at this etching, and states: 'During the artist's fourth trip to the United States, [Senator Billy] Mason sat for Zorn in his studio in Chicago in 1900. Placed in a non-specific place, rather than in an office or study, the pudgy [Senator] Mason with hooded eyes is a study in forceful concentration.' She notes 'the intensity of his oblique gaze, his beefy body and [disarranged] hair', while at the same time 'Zorn has given Mason a steady and statesmanlike mien... Mason's worn countenance, pursed lips and the upright axis of the head help to build the impression of a deadly serious man concentrating ferociously on behalf, we presume, of his constituency. Zorn has managed to fashion a likeness that aggregates formality and informality in one body. The generalized setting also makes Mason less specifically American, more of a thoughtful statesman tout court. Zorn's intense Billy Mason [exemplifies] a newly widespread, transnational norm of bourgeois masculinity at the turn of the century that emphasized single-minded immersion in work.' (p. 188).

Mason served for two stints as Senator for Illinois, opposing both the imperialism of President McKinley and the internationalism of President Woodrow Wilson. He was also apparently the originator of a new style of waistcoat that was uniquely [adapted] to stouter figures and very warm weather. While not immediately apparent in Zorn's portrait, the waistcoat is rendered as a wonderful, almost abstract weave of the etching needle's lines.” (https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/39968)

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching with subtle plate tone, printed on fine buff-coloured laid paper (featuring a partial Arches watermark), with the artist's signature and date integrated into the plate at the lower left. This specific impression is richly inked, crisp, and beautifully defined; the fine grain of intentional surface markings in the plate remains remarkably strong compared to the standard reference impressions held by the Rijksmuseum and the Art Institute of Chicago. Apart from historical pencil notations in the wide lower margin, the sheet is in near-pristine condition—entirely free of tears, pinholes, folds, abrasions, or foxing.

Note: The fine lettering across the top edge indicates this impression belongs to the celebrated edition published in Loys Delteil's definitive volume, "Le Peintre-Graveur Illustré", Tome IV, Paris, 1909.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 30.9 x 23.1 cm
• Platemark: 19.9 x 13.9 cm

In-Plate Lettering:

• Upper-left: “Le peintre Graveur illustré / T. IV.”
• Upper-centre: “SENATOR B MASON”
• Upper-right: “A. ZORN SC.”
• Lower left corner: [Artist’s monogram] “Zorn / Chicago 1900”

References:

• Asplund 159 ii/ii; Delteil 158 ii/ii; Hjert & Hjert 107 ii/ii
• Rijksmuseum: Object Number RP-P-1942-551 — https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200406638
• Art Institute of Chicago: Reference Number 1927.1932 —  https://www.artic.edu/artworks/41902/billy-mason

Price & Shipping:

AU$662 (approx. US$463.16 / €412.45 / £346.97), inclusive of worldwide express shipping. Please note that import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

To acquire this rare etching, please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless and protected transaction.

This print has been sold