(Attributed
to) Gregor Fentzel (also known as Gregorius Fentzel) (active 1640–1660)
“Afternoon” (also known as “Middag”),
circa 1650
Technical
Details & Condition:
Engraving
on fine laid paper with wide margins, fully backed with a support sheet of
archival-quality washi paper. This is the second plate from the celebrated
four-part series “The Four Times of the Day”, published in Nuremberg by
Paulus Fürst (active 1608–1666). It is engraved in the same direction after
Adriaen Collaert’s original print (circa 1587–1588). As with Collaert’s
original engraving, the composition is based on the related preparatory drawing
by Maarten de Vos (aka Maarten de Vos; Maerten de Vos) (1532–1603) preserved
in the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris.
This
is a strong and well-printed impression. The sheet has been expertly stabilised
on its backing sheet. There is professional restoration work to an old tear
along the vertical centre-fold line, as well as to abrasions in the German text
below the image. Light, even age-staining is visible throughout the margins,
and a previous collector’s notations on the verso show through slightly in the
lower-left margin.
Iconographic Descriptions
•
The British Museum describes the composition: “Sol flying in the
clouds above a midday landscape with a grand house and formal garden with
fountain and peacock and scenes of harvesting and youthful figures resting
under the shade of a tree” (BM 1901,0611.79).
• The Rijksmuseum inventories the scene as: “Afternoon. Allegory with
Apollo in the clouds as Meridies, the personification of the afternoon. Below
on earth, activities related to the life stage of youth or young adulthood:
working the land and lovers in a garden. Part of the series of the four times
of the day” (Rijksmuseum RP-P-OB-5121).
Dimensions:
• Sheet: 25.2 x 33.5 cm
• Plate: 21.8 x 27.1 cm
• Image borderline: 19 x 26.3 cm
In-Plate
Lettering:
•
Below the image in two columns of two lines: “Den Mittag laße dir des Tages
Arbeit theilen, / mach mit ihr Stillestand. Was nit ruht unterweilen, // [Es
da]uret selten lang. Der Tag es ſelbſt bekennt: / [Es iſt dur]ſchattet ex, ie
heiſſer daß es brennt.”
English
Translation:
“Let
midday divide the day's work for you; make with it a standstill. What does not
rest once in a while, rarely lasts long. The day itself confesses: It is cast
in shadow, the hotter it burns.”
References:
•
Hollstein Dutch 1455 (copy e)
• New Hollstein Dutch 1364
Price
& Shipping:
AU$322 (approximately US$226.35
/ €195.63 / £168.91), inclusive of worldwide express shipping. Please note that
import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.
If
you are interested in acquiring this rare 17th-century engraving exemplifying the
mastery of the Netherlandish school, please contact me directly at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com.
A secure, itemised PayPal invoice will be generated to complete
your purchase smoothly.


















































