Karl Remshard, “The Battle of Alexander the Great against the Persians at the Granicus River”, c. 1720

Karl Remshard (also known as Carl Remshard, Carolus Rembshart and Carolus Remshart) (1678–1735) — Engraver working for the Augsburg publishing trade celebrated for his topographical views

“The Battle of Alexander the Great against the Persians at the Granicus River” (Die Schlacht Alexanders des Großen gegen die Perser am Fluss Granicus), circa 1720

Technical Details & Condition:

Engraving on fine laid paper, trimmed with a narrow margin around the image borderline and writing edge. The sheet is backed with a support of archival quality Japanese washi paper providing structural support and false margins for presentation.

The composition of the engraving is based on the historical painting "The Battle of the Granicus" (1665) in the Louvre Museum by Charles Le Brun (1619–1690), depicting Alexander the Great leading his cavalry across the Granicus River in battle with the Persian army in 334 B.C.

The impression is strong, crisp and rich. There are repairs to small chips and bumps to the outer edge of the sheet which otherwise remains in good condition with no stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 15.2 x 24.3 cm
• Inner image borderline: 11.3 x 23.8 cm

In-Plate Lettering (below the image borderline in three columns):

• Left (French): “LA VERTU SURMONTE TOUT OBSTACLE / Alexandre ayant passe le Granique, attaque les / Persses á forces inégales, et met en fuite leur / innombrable multitude” (Translation: VIRTUE OVERCOMES EVERY OBSTACLE / Having crossed the Granicus, Alexander attacks the Persians with unequal forces and puts their countless multitude to flight)
• Centre (German): “Durch aus nichts hält den Läuff / des Tapffern Helden auf. / Nach dem der grosse Alexander über den Fluß granicus / gesehet greifft Er das ünzählbare Heer der Perser mit / seiner geringen Armee dennoch an und erhalt das Feld.” (Translation: Absolutely nothing stops the course of the brave hero. After the great Alexander was seen over the Granicus River, he nevertheless attacks the innumerable army of the Persians with his small army and wins the field.)
• Right (Latin): “VIRTUS OMNI OBICE MAJOR. / Alexander, superato Granico, Persas imparibus / copiis aggreditur eorumque innumerabilem ex= / ercitum fundit.” (Translation: VIRTUE GREATER THAN EVERY OBSTACLE. Alexander, having crossed the Granicus, attacks the Persians with unequal forces and scatters their countless army.)

References:

• Nagler 6 (Georg Kaspar Nagler, “Neues allgemeines Künstler-Lexicon,” vol. 12, 1842, Munich, E. A. Fleischmann, p. 550, cat. no. 6) — Digitally available via Archive.org: https://archive.org/details/10258649bsb/page/550/mode/2up
• Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum: Museum Number CRemshard AB 3.4 — http://kk.haum-bs.de/?id=c-remshard-ab3-0004

Price & Shipping:

AU$198 (approximately US$138.31 / €123.15 / £104.47), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

To acquire this small and highly detailed engraving, please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. Secure payment is handled via PayPal invoice for a smooth, protected transaction.

Augustin Legrand, “The Spirit of a Child Arrived in the Presence of the Almighty”, c. 1800–05

Augustin Legrand (born Auguste-Claude-Simon Legrand; inscribed in the plate as “Amb.ᵉ Le Grand” / Ambroise Legrand, the printmaker's professional pseudonym) (1765–c.1815). A notable French master of stipple engraving/etching in the crayon-manner, and independent fine-art publishing

“The Spirit of a Child Arrived in the Presence of the Almighty”, circa 1800–1805

Contextual Commentary:

This finely executed stipple engraving depicts a serene winged angel holding a symbolic palm frond, gently guiding the ascending spirit of a young child into the celestial realm. The composition is based on a celebrated lost work by the Reverend Matthew William Peters, R.A. (1742–1814). Peters occupied a unique position in the late 18th-century art world, balancing his duties as Chaplain to the Prince of Wales with a highly successful career as a painter. The British Museum biographical archives famously capture his artistic versatility, noting he was a "painter of portraits, historical and fancy pictures, and of half-naked women."

Artworks carrying this specific imagery held profound emotional and social weight during the late Georgian and early Victorian periods, an era marked by devastatingly high rates of child mortality. Rather than dwelling on the tragedy of early death, pieces like this offered immense spiritual solace to grieving families. By emphasising a peaceful, immediate ascension where God “shall wipe away all tears”—inscribed below the image from Revelation 7:17 (King James Version)—this print shifted the focus toward salvation and eternal peace. This particular edition highlights the cross-cultural reach of these comforting religious motifs, translated here by a French master engraver for an international European market.

Technical Details & Condition:

Stipple engraving and etching on heavy wove paper, trimmed around the image and professional backed with archival quality washi paper to provide structural support.

The impression is strong but with abrasions and small replenished losses such as the lower left corner. Aside from the restorations, the sheet remains is good condition for its large size and age with no significant stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 53.1 x 38.7 cm
• Inner image borderline: 49.8 x 37.8 cm

In-Plate Lettering (below the image borderline):

• Left: “Painted by the Rev. W.^m Peters of Exeter College Oxford & R.A.”
• Centre: “The SPIRIT of a CHILD arriv'd in the PRESENCE of the ALMIGHTY / And the Lamb which is in the midst of the Throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto / living fountains of waters and God shall wipe away all Tears from their Eyes”
• Right: “Engraved by Amb.^ᵉ Le Grand”

Price & Shipping:

AU$277 (approximately US$192.74 / €172.08 / £145.91), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

To acquire this large and finely executed stipple engraving, please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. Secure payment is handled via PayPal invoice for a smooth, protected transaction.

Maria Sibylla Merian, “Plate XXXII: Gemeen Gras (Gramen pratense, vulgare)”, published 1730

Maria Sibylla Merian (also known as Maria Sibylla Graff) (1647–1717)

“Plate XXXII: Gemeen Gras (Gramen pratense, vulgare)”, from the original 1679–1683 plates; published 1730.

Contextual Commentary:

This is a rare and truly remarkable engraving from the early posthumous Dutch edition, hand-coloured as issued. While printed in 1730, it strikes directly from the original copperplates etched and engraved by Merian's own hand during her lifetime. Merian was a pioneering artist-naturalist whose groundbreaking empirical research proved that caterpillars were not "beasts of the devil" born spontaneously from mud, but rather a vital stage in the stunning metamorphosis of butterflies and moths.

This plate, numbered 32 (XXXII), appears in Maria Sibylla Merian’s “De Europische Insecten” (also known as “Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandelung, und sonderbare Blumennahrung” [The Wondrous Transformation of Caterpillars and their Strange Diet of Flowers]), published in Amsterdam in 1730 by J. F. Bernard. It is one of four plates (XXXII–XXXV) illustrating the descriptions on pages 17 and 18.

After Merian’s death in 1717, her daughters, Johanna Helena and Dorothea Maria—accomplished artists who had worked alongside her for decades—preserved her legacy. They inherited her original copperplates and continued to oversee the printing and intricate hand-colouring of her works. Having known Merian’s original watercolour studies and scientific aims intimately, they helped ensure that early posthumous editions remained faithful to her artistic standards.

To give a flavour of the accompanying text, Merian describes her experience with the caterpillar shown here before discussing its habits in greater detail: “I fed this grey caterpillar with grass until July; then it spun a grey cocoon and transformed into a grey pupa, which laid green eggs.” (Translated.)

Although the plate is titled “Gemeen Gras” in the publication, an old handwritten ink inscription above the image identifies the moth as “Eikenblad”—Dutch for “oak leaf.” The name refers to its resemblance to a dead, withered leaf; the moth is also known as a Lappet Moth.

Regarding the edition size, Florence F. J. M. Pieters and Diny Winthagen (1999) note in their commemorative essay marking the 350th anniversary of Merian’s birth: “… her books were very rare, editions probably not exceeding 100 copies, and consequently very expensive for scientists — especially the coloured copies: the subscription prices of a coloured versus an uncoloured copy of her book on Surinam insects were 45 and 15 Dutch guilders” (p. 10). They also note that “the pay of a Dutch ocean-going sailor came to 9 guilders a month during the entire seventeenth and eighteenth centuries” (op. cit.).

Technical Details & Condition:

Engraving on buff-coloured laid paper, printed from one of Maria Sibylla Merian’s original copperplates and hand-coloured in the 1730 edition. The colouring is traditionally attributed to, or believed to have been closely supervised by, Merian’s daughters, and is executed with great skill in a historically faithful palette.

The impression is strong and near-flawless, with luminous, richly applied hand-colouring. An old handwritten ink inscription in the upper margin identifies the moth as “Eikenblad”. Apart from this inscription, the sheet is in excellent condition for its age—free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, restorations, and significant stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 21.2 x 14.8 cm
• Platemark: 14.7 x 11 cm

In-Plate Lettering:

• Upper right corner “XXXII”

References:

• Florence F.J.M. Pieters & Diny Winthagen, “Maria Sibylla Merian, Naturalist and Artist (1647–1717): A Commemoration on the Occasion of the 350th Anniversary of her Birth”, 1999, Archives of Natural History, — Available via UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository): https://pure.uva.nl/ws/files/956970/80552_327018.pdf  
• Maria Sibylla Merian, “De Europischen insecten …”, 1730, Amsterdam, J.F. Bernard, p. 17 — Available via Archive.org: https://archive.org/details/Europischeninse00Meri/page/XXXII-XXXV/mode/2up

Price & Shipping:

AU$313 (approximately US$218.18 / €194.25 / £164.70), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

To acquire this exceptionally rare engraving, printed from one of Merian’s original copperplates and hand-coloured as issued, please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. Secure payment is handled via PayPal invoice for a smooth, protected transaction.

This print has been sold