Johann Jakob Thourneyser I, “Portrait of Maria Giovanna Battista of Savoy-Nemours”, 1678

Johann Jakob Thourneyser the Elder (also known as Johann Jakob Thourneysen, Jean Jacques Thourneysen) (1636–1711)

“Portrait of Maria Giovanna Battista of Savoy-Nemours” (also known as “Marie Jeanne Baptiste de Savoye” [Rondot]) 1679

Description:

This superb example of high-Baroque portraiture features the Duchess and Regent of Savoy, Maria Giovanna Battista of Savoy-Nemours (1644–1724), portrayed as a sculpted bust resting on a plinth. The portrait is set within a frame of bold auricular (ear-like) scrolls with an inner wreath of rolling acanthus leaves.

At the base of the plinth, a heraldic shield sits beneath a sovereign crown, signifying her marital alliance and affirming her absolute authority as Regent for her young son, Victor Amadeus II. Due to the natural mirroring process inherent to 17th-century engraving, the components of the shield appear laterally reversed on the paper: the viewer's right features the striking white cross of her husband's lineage (the House of Savoy), while the left displays the intricate quarterly divisions of her own paternal house of Nemours.

Flanking the crest on the lower right corner of the image is a crowned cornucopia, embellished with a fortified city wall and stalks of grain—serving as an allegory of prosperity, celebrating the peace, security, and economic abundance achieved under her governance.

Technical Details & Condition:

Engraving on laid paper, trimmed with a narrow margin around the image borderline, and professionally backed with a support sheet of archival-quality washi paper.

This is a strong, crisp, and evenly printed impression. Aside from small replenished chips along the edges, the sheet remains in good condition with no significant stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 34.1 x 23.4 cm
• Image borderline: 33.8 x 22.8 cm

In-Plate Lettering:

• Lower-left: “I. I. Thourneyser Helv. Basil. Sculpsit Lugduni” (Translation: “Iohannes Iacobus [or Johann Jakob] Thourneyser, a Swiss person from Basel engraved it in Lugdunum [the ancient Roman name for the city of Lyon, France]”)
• Lower-centre: “[1]679.”

References:

• Rondot 55 (Natalis Rondot, “Les Thurneysen: graveurs d'estampes lyonnais au XVIIe …”, 1899, Bernoux et Cumin, p. 61, cat. no. 55)—Available online via Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Natalis_Rondot_Les_Thurneysen_Graveurs_d_estampes?id=HcFIAQAAIAAJ

Price & Shipping:

AU$278 (approximately US$194.73 / €170.78 / £146.02), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this exceptionally rare and historically significant engraving, please contact me directly at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless transaction.

This print has been sold 

Johann Christoph Erhard “The Horseman Asking for Directions”, 1817

Johann Christoph Erhard (1795–1822)

“The Horseman Asking for Directions” (or “Der nach dem Wege fragende Reiter”), 1817

Aloys Apell (1816) describes this print (in translation):

“Along a stream, which begins its course from the middle ground on the left, where several houses of a village are visible, and continues to the foreground on the same side, the road, bordered by wooden railings and beautiful trees and enlivened by three figures, leads to the foreground on the right. Here, next to an oak tree, one sees a horseman facing right, who, unaware of the way ahead, is being greeted by a man. On the far right, on a rise in the second middle ground, stands a shepherd with a small flock of sheep. (pp. 58–59, cat. no. 82)”

Apell also advises that this plate is unfinished and comments that it was initially self-published by the artist, along with the etching “The Hunter at the Wooden Footbridge” (Der Jäger auf dem hölzernen Steg), and published by the artist's brother from his posthumous estate (Nachlass) (p. 58, cat. no. 81).

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching with pale plate tone on fine wove paper with wide margins.

A richly inked, crisp, and evenly printed impression—nearly faultless. Aside from a minor printer’s crease in the margin at upper-left—visible when the sheet is held against a light—the sheet is in excellent condition, free of tears, holes, abrasions, or stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 26.1 x 34.1 cm
• Platemark: 10.9 x 20.3 cm

In-Plate Lettering:

• Lower-right edge: “JC Erhard inv. 1817”

References:

• Apell 82 (Aloys Apell, “Das werk von Johann Christoph Erhard, maler und radirer ... mit einer biographie und dem bildness des künstlers”, 1866, Dresden, Apell, pp. 58–59, cat. no. 82)—Available online via Archive.org: https://archive.org/details/daswerkvonjohann00apel/page/58/mode/2up
• Barneby’s Auctions: https://www.barnebys.com/auctions/lot/j-erhard-1795-1822-the-rider-asking-after-the-way-1817-etching-MAiK5LJ-629866693

Price & Shipping:

AU$298 (approximately US$206.01 / €181.10 / £154.65), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this fascinating glimpse into everyday life around Vienna in the early 1800s, please contact me directly at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless transaction.

Sadly, just three years after completing this print, Erhard suffered a severe mental health crisis. Following a period of intense hallucinations, he made a first suicide attempt in 1820 and tragically ended his own life two years later, passing away at only 27 years of age.

Note on Companion Works:

This is the second etching by Johann Christoph Erhard that I have listed; see “The Russian Infantryman” (1815) (https://www.printsandprinciples.com/2023/07/johann-christoph-erhards-etching.html). Where that prior, confronting image epitomised the artist’s intense engagement with sketching Russian military personnel during the Napoleonic era, the present scene reflects another core strength of his oeuvre. This peaceful landscape, centred around a traveller seeking directions, beautifully highlights Erhard's mastery of equine anatomy—a skill he refined through extensive studies of cavalry and working horses in the immediate post-war years.

Fernand Desmoulin, “Portrait of Alexandre Dumas fils”, 1896

Fernand Desmoulin (1853–1914)

“Portrait of Alexandre Dumas fils”, 1896

About the Portrait:

Alexandre Dumas fils (1824–1895) was a prominent 19th-century French author and playwright, best known for writing the novel and play “La Dame aux Camélias” (The Lady of the Camellias), which inspired Verdi's opera “La Traviata.” The appendage “fils” (son) distinguished him from his father, the legendary author of “The Three Musketeers.”

Unlike reproductive prints of the era that copied popular paintings, this exceptional portrait was etched by Fernand Desmoulin from life. Published in 1896 shortly after the author's death, this powerful, frontal composition stands as a definitive posthumous tribute to one of France’s most influential literary figures.

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching and drypoint with rich plate tone on heavy, buff-coloured Arches laid paper, with wide margins.

This impression is remarkably crisp, deeply inked, and evenly printed—nearly faultless in execution. Aside from minor marks confined to the lower margin edge, the large sheet remains in excellent condition, completely free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, or significant stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 55.7 x 40.9 cm
• Platemark: 39.6 x 27.9 cm

In-Plate Lettering:

• Upper-left: “F. Desmoulin”

References:

• IFF 46 (Jean Adhémar & Jacques Lethève, “Inventaire du Fonds Français après 1800: Daumont–Dorange”, vol. 6, 1954, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Département des Estampes, p. 415, cat. no. 46)— Available via Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Gallica): https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k54891736/f427.item
• Musée Carnavalet, Histoire de Paris: inv. no. G.12671— https://www.parismuseescollections.paris.fr/fr/musee-carnavalet/oeuvres/alexandre-dumas-fils-a-mi-corps
• MAH (Musée d'art et d'histoire, Ville de Genève): inv. no. E 2020-0791— https://www.mahmah.ch/collection/oeuvres/alexandre-dumas-fils/e-2020-0791

Price & Shipping:

AU$298 (approximately US$208.10 / €182.94 / £156.25), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you’re interested in acquiring this large, imposing, and historic portrait, please contact me directly at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless transaction.

This print has been sold