Marcus Gheeraerts I, “Fable of the Fly and the Ants”, 1567

Marcus Gheeraerts I (also known as Marc Garrard, Marcus Geraerts, Marc Gerards, and Marcus Gheraerts) (1516/21–circa 1590)
“Fable of the Fly and the Ants” (titled in the plate, “De Vlieghe en Mieren” [The Flies and Ants]), 1567 (published in 1617)

The Rijksmuseum provides the following explanation of this fable regarding Aegidius Sadeler II’s (c.1570–1629) mirror copy of Marcus Gheeraerts’ engraving (Hollstein Dutch 390):
“A group of ants in front of a tree. A fly in the air. The fable tells of the fly bragging to the ants about its wonderful life. The ants praise their own industriousness. When winter comes, the fly dies, while the ants survive on the fruits of their labour. The moral of the story teaches that industriousness is a virtue and idleness a vice.”
https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200247581

Technical Details & Condition:
Etching on fine laid paper with full margins as published, featuring Dutch letterpress text above and below the engraving, and verso. The impression is strong, and the sheet is in excellent condition, free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, or significant stains.

The print is plate 57 from a series of 125 plates published in Amsterdam (possibly by Sander Wybrantsz et al.) in 1617, serving as illustrations to Joost van den Vondel’s (1587–1679) “Vorstelijke Warande der Dieren” (Princely Warren of Animals).

Dimensions:
• Sheet: 19.6 x 15.7 cm
• Plate mark: 9.6 x 11.5 cm
• Image borderline: 9.4 x 11.3 cm

Letterpress Dutch lettering:
• Above the plate mark: “57 WARANDE DER DIEREN./ 57. De Vlieghe en Mieren.”
• Below the plate mark: “SULke redenen zijnder … leven niet seker. CUSPINIANUS”

References:
• Hollstein (Dutch) 1–108 (FWH Hollstein, 1949, Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts ca.1450–1700, vol. VII, Amsterdam, Menno Hertzberger, p. 100, cat. nos. 1–108)
• The British Museum describes an earlier edition (c. 1567):
“'The fly and the ant'; a group of ants at left are crawling into a tree; a fly flies down to them; in the background there are two men on horses; in the background there is a church …”
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1868-0612-167
• Archive.org offers an online view of the 1682 edition:
https://archive.org/details/vorstelijckewara00vond/page/n127/mode/2up

Price & Shipping:
AU$264 (approximately US$174.59 / €149.68 / £130.89), including worldwide express shipping. Please note that import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this visually intriguing emblem print—hopefully other viewers will be more attuned to see the large fly depicted at the centre of the composition than I was!—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.

This print has been sold 

Charles Waltner, “Le Vase de Chine”, 1875, after Mariano Fortuny

Charles Waltner (aka Charles Albert Waltner) (1846–1925)
“Le Vase de Chine” (The Chinese Vase),1875
After a painting by Mariano Fortuny (also known as Mariano José María Bernardo Fortuny y Carbo and Mariano José María Bernardo Fortuny y Marsal) (1838–1874) from the John W. Wilson Collection—a collection exhibited in Wilson’s gallery to showcase “the artistic and literary Circle of Brussels. For the benefit of the poor of this city” (see https://archive.org/details/catalogueraison00ledegoog/page/n153/mode/1up).

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on cream laid paper with full margins as published. The impression is strong (near faultless), with the sheet in pristine condition—free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, or signs of handling.
The etching was printed by Alfred Salmon (active 1863–1894) and published in Paris and London in 1875 by A. Ballue in volume 1 of the art periodical “L'Art: Revue Hebdomadaire Illustrée”, between pages 166 and 167.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 42.5 x 30 cm
• Plate: 29.5 x 22.2 cm
• Image borderline: 24.5 x 18 cm

Plate Lettering:

• Within the image borderline at the lower right corner (signature): “[M F]ortunty/ 1870”
• Lower left: “Mariano Fortuny pinx/ L’Art”
• Lower centre: “LE VASE DE CHINE/ (Collection de M. John W. Wilson)”
• Lower right: “Ch. Waltner sculp. / Imp. A. Salmon.”

References:

• Béraldi 48 (Henri Béraldi, 1892, Les Graveurs du XIXe Siècle: Guide de l'Amateur d'Estampes Modernes: Saint-Marcel–Zwinger, vol. XII, Paris, Librairie L. Conquet, p. 262, cat. no. 48)
  (see https://archive.org/details/lesgraveursdu19e12berauoft/page/262/mode/2up)
• The British Museum describes this print: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1877-0210-440

Price & Shipping:

AU$214 (approximately US$140.90 / €120.96 / £106.46), including worldwide express shipping. Please note that import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this exquisite etching—note the artist’s skill in capturing the shimmering effect of light bouncing off mirrors and gilded surfaces in the lavishly decorated room—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.

Charles Jacque, “L'Arrivée au Champ”, 1864

Charles Jacque (also known as Charles Émile Jacque) (1813–1894)
“L'Arrivée au Champ” (Arrival at the Field), 1864

Technical Details & Condition:
Etching with drypoint and dot roulette on chine collé, on heavy wove paper. The impression is strong and well-printed, with restored (almost invisible) chips in the borderline. The sheet is in excellent condition, free from stains, or signs of handling.

This is Plate 7,3 from an untitled series of twenty-four etchings published in 1864 (Guiffrey catalogue nos. 177 to 212). The plate was printed in Paris by Sarazin (also known as Sarasin) (fl. circa 1846–1880).

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 19.4 x 29.1 cm
• Plate: 13.2 x 24 cm
• Chine collé: 9.4 x 20.6 cm
• Image borderline: 8.5 x 19.9 cm

Plate Lettering:

• Within the image borderline at lower right corner: “Ch. Jacque”
• Lower left: “CH. JACQUE SC”
• Lower centre: “L'ARRIVÉE AU CHAMP”
• Lower right: “SARAZIN IMP PARIS / [faintly] PL. 7, 3.”

References:

• Guiffrey 183 (J.-J. Guiffrey, 1868, L’Oeuvre de Ch. Jacque: Catalogue de ses Eaux-Fortes et Pointes Sèches, Paris, Lemaire, p. 91, cat. no. 183). View online at: https://archive.org/details/luvredechjacque00guifgoog/page/n102/mode/2up
• Guiffrey describes this scene: (transl.) “Sheep, emerging from the right, scatter across the countryside. The shepherd, standing still, his chin resting on his staff, and his dog behind him, watches them pass. To the right, in the background, are trees; in the middle, a village and a church steeple occupy the background; to the left, a mill among haystacks.” (p. 91)
• IFF 286 (Jean Adhémar & Jacques Lethève, 1960, Inventaire du Fonds Français après 1800: HUMBLOT–JYG, vol. 11, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, p. 115, cat. no. 286). View online at: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5489301d/f127.item
• The British Museum gives a description of this print at: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1865-0429-154

Price & Shipping:
AU$264 (approximately US$173 / €149.01 / £130.96), including worldwide express shipping.

Please note that import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this beautifully executed print — note how the artist has captured the sparkling effect of early morning light on the foliage and the subtle gradation of the sky darkening gently to the right — please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.

This print has been sold

Stefano della Bella, “Landscape with Herd and Corinthian Capital”, c. 1641

Stefano della Bella (1610–1664)
“Landscape with Herd and Corinthian Capital” (descriptive title only), circa 1641

Technical Details & Condition:
Etching on wove paper without watermark, with a small margin around the platemark. The impression is strong and well-printed from a later edition. The plate is inscribed in the plate with the number “7,” from the series of thirteen round etchings on square plates “Landscapes and Ruins of Rome” (also known as “Paysages et Ruines de Rome” or “Views of Roman Ruins and Landscapes”). Please note that Charles Antoine Jombert’s 1772 catalogue of Della Bella’s prints describes this plate as number 7, whereas De Vesme & Massar (1971) describe it as number 4, as this is the number inscribed in the plate in the second state. (See https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1871-0713-5-724)
The sheet is in near pristine condition, free from tears, holes, folds, abrasions, or stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 14.3 x 14.3 cm
• Plate mark: 13.7 x 13.7 cm
• Image borderline (diameter): 13 cm

Plate Lettering:

• Lower left: “Stef. Della Bella inuent fecit”
• Upper right corner: “7”

References:

• De Vesme & Massar 822 (Alexandre de Vesme, revised by Phyllis Dearborn Massar, 1971, “Stefano della Bella: Catalogue Raisonné”, New York, Collectors Editions, p. 127, cat. no. 822, p. 165)
• De Vesme & Massar describe this print as: (transl.) “Landscape with a Corinthian capital, in the foreground, lying on the ground. Further on, to the left, among the trees, one can see a monument with two figures in bas-relief. In the middle and to the right, two standing shepherds and a flock.” (p. 127)

Price & Shipping:
AU$263 (approximately US$172.29 / €148.38 / £130.24), including worldwide express shipping. Please note: Import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this exquisite etching—likely a scene drawn on location by the artist, as De Vesme & Massar (1971) note that the Roman views portrayed in the series “checked against other contemporary and more purely topographic prints, are found to be extremely accurate. They are based on drawings made on the spot…” (p. 126)—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.