Valentin Lefebre, “Saint Matthew and the Angel” (etching & counterproof), 1682, after Veronese

Valentin Lefebre (also known as Valentin Le Fevre, Valentin Le Febre, Valentin Lefebure, Valentin Lefèvre) (1637–1677)
“Saint Matthew and the Angel” (also known as “San Matteo e l'Angelo”]), etching and counterproof impressions, 1682

While some sources suggest that the subject and title of this print is “Tobias and the Angel,” the British Museum and the Rijksmuseum identify the central figure as Saint Matthew.

Technical Details & Condition:
An etching and a counterproof impression (taken from the etching) printed on separate sheets of laid paper. The etching is a strong impression, trimmed with approximately 3mm margins around the platemark, and mounted on a blue support sheet. It shows minor age toning, but is otherwise free of tears, holes, folds, or significant stains. The counterproof is a pale impression—being a direct impression taken from the freshly printed etching, resulting in a reversed image—with small margins on the sides and larger margins at the top and bottom. It has two binding holes in the right margin, a minor stain on Saint Matthew, and a small tear in the lower margin; otherwise, the sheet remains in good condition with no other significant issues.

This etching is part of a series of fifty-three plates titled “Opera Selectiora” (Selected Works), reproducing paintings by Titian (also known as Vecellio Tiziano) (1489/90–1576) and Paolo Veronese (also known as Paolo Caliari) 1(528–1588). It was published in Venice by Jacobus van Campen (fl.1682) and is based on a ceiling painting by Veronese in the Doge’s Palace. Both impressions offered here are from the initial editions of 1682 or 1684, prior to the later 18th-century editions where Teodoro Viero added his address to the plate.

These closely connected prints are exceedingly rare. Despite their rarity, the British Museum holds several examples of Lefebre’s counterproofs; for example, https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1950-0211-173.

Dimensions:
• Sheet (Etching): 24.3 x 22.8 cm
• Sheet (Counterproof): 34 x 24.2 cm
• Platemark: 23.5 x 22.1 cm
• Image borderline: 22.7 x 21.5 cm

Plate Lettering (below the image border):
• Left: “V. lefebre del et sculp.”
• Centre: “P. Caliary Ver.P”
• Right: “J. Van Campen Formis Venetÿs.”

References:
• Hollstein 1–53 (F.W.H. Hollstein, “Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts ca. 1450–1700: L'ADMIRAL–LUCAS VAN LEYDEN,” vol. 10, 1953, Amsterdam, Menno Hertzberger, pp. 46–48, cat. nos. 1–53)
• Villot 35
• Ruggeri I.35
• British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1954-0211-6-19
• Rijksmuseum: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200218687

Price & Shipping:
AU$334 (approximately US$236.13 / €199.41 / £174.17) for the pair of prints, including worldwide express shipping. Please note: Import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this exceptionally rare pair of prints—comprising the original etching and the counterproof taken directly from the freshly printed plate—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a smooth and safe transaction.

This print has been sold 

Alphonse Legros, “Peasant Women in the Neighbourhood of Boulogne,” 1873

Alphonse Legros (1837–1911)
“Peasant Women in the Neighbourhood of Boulogne” (or “Paysannes des environs de Boulogne”), 1873

Technical Details & Condition:
Etching and drypoint with plate tone on wove paper, with wide margins. This print was published by Seeley & Co., London, in the art periodical edited by Philip Gilbert Hamerton, “The Portfolio,” in August 1873. This impression is from the published state: Bliss (1923) proposes state v (of v), and Malassis & Thibaudeau (1878) proposes state iii (of iii). The impression is richly inked and nearly faultlessly printed. The sheet is in pristine condition—free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, or handling marks.

Dimensions:
• Sheet: 38.1 x 28 cm
• Platemark: 22.8 x 15 cm
• Image borderline: 22.6 x 14.7 cm

Plate Lettering:
• Signed in the plate at the lower right corner: “A. Legros”

References:
• Bliss 80 (Frank E. Bliss, “A Catalogue of the Etchings, Drypoints and Lithographs by Professor Alphonse Legros (1837–1911) in the Collection of Frank E. Bliss,” 1923, London, p. 19, cat. no. 80)
• Malassis & Thibaudeau 80 (A. P.-Malassis & A.-W. Thibaudeau, “Oeuvre Gravé et Lithographie de M. Alphonse Legros,” 1878, Paris, J. Baur, pp. 51–52, cat. no. 80)
• British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1878-0511-78
• Cleveland Museum of Art: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1945.275
(Note: The catalogue entry for this print is listed as “Bliss 94,” which is incorrect and should be Bliss 80. The confusion likely arises from the similar title, even if the composition differs; see https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1877-1013-2959.)
• The Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa) offers additional insights:
“Paysannes des Environs de Boulogne (Peasant women from near Boulogne) is an 1873 etching depicting three young peasant women seated together, their heads bowed and hands folded in contemplative prayer. At the feet of one is a small sack tied with string. The women sit in individual rustic chairs rather than pews, suggesting informal prayers in the home rather than a congregation. Their local dress, including distinctive bonnets and capes, signals their rural status, distant from the industrial modernity of the urban centre. The use of light line conveys the simplicity of the setting and the piety of the women.”
https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/44153

Price & Shipping:
AU$235 (approximately US$165.94 / €140.12 / £121.99), including worldwide express shipping.
Please note: Import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you’re interested in this superb impression of a masterwork of etching—particularly noting the subtle tonal contrasts, such as the foreground figure’s proximity to the viewer compared to the distant seated figure, and the transition from contour marks to cross-hatching in the background—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a smooth and safe transaction.

This print has been sold 

Johann Christian Kröner, “Wild Deer”, 1878

Johann Christian Kröner (or Christian Kroener) (1838–1911)
“Wild Deer,” 1878

Technical Details & Condition:
Etching (with aquatint?) printed in warm-black ink on heavy cream wove paper with wide margins. The impression is richly inked and nearly faultlessly printed. The sheet is in pristine condition—free of tears, holes, folds, or stains.

Dimensions:
• Sheet: 43.5 x 28 cm
• Platemark: 24.6 x 18.9 cm
• Image borderline: 21.5 x 15.5 cm

Plate Lettering:
• Signed and dated in the plate at the lower left corner, with some letters and numbers not fully legible: “[‘Ch’ in ligature] Kroner [1878]”

Reference:
• University Museums - Colgate University: https://emuseum.colgate.edu/objects/9063

Price & Shipping:
AU$237 (approximately US$167.94 / €141.51 / £123.11), including worldwide express shipping.
Please note: Import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in this rare etching by an established master of the Stimmungslandschaft (forest mood)—noting that Kröner, alongside Richard Friese, is a leading exponent of Jagdmalerei (hunting scenes) that appealed to the aesthetic and cultural sensibilities of the hunting elite in fin de siècle Germany—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a smooth and safe transaction.

Antoninus Florentinus, “Summa Sacrae Theologiae”, c.1478 (Leaf 3)

Rubricated leaf from Antoninus Florentinus’ “Summa Sacrae Theologiae,” c.1478 (Leaf 3)

Technical Details & Condition:
An extraordinarily rare, large, and beautifully rubricated incunable leaf, published between 1477 and 1479 in Nuremberg by the renowned printer and godfather of Albrecht Dürer, Anton Koberger (c.1440/45–1513). This exceptional leaf originates from the first edition of Antoninus Florentinus’ (1389–1459) seminal work, “Summa Sacrae Theologiae”—a cornerstone of moral theology.

• Letterpress text printed recto and verso on laid paper of imperial folio size, complete with full margins, as originally issued
• Unfaded, richly rubricated capitals, attributed to an unidentified Nuremberg artist
• The leaf is in excellent condition for its age and size—free of tears, folds, abrasions, or significant stains. Light age-toning is visible along the edges, with a vertical “wormhole” on the binding edge

Dimensions:
• Sheet: 48.5 x 33 cm

References:
• Hain-Cop. 1242 (Walter Arthur Copinger, “Supplement to Hain's Repertorium bibliographicum, or, Collections toward a new edition of that work: in two parts,” London, H. Sotheran and Co., p. 3, cat. no. 1242)— see https://archive.org/details/b29004627_0001/page/32/mode/1up
• GW 2186 (“Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke,” Stuttgart, Anton Hiersemann, cat. no. 02186)— see https://www.gesamtkatalogderwiegendrucke.de/docs/GW02186.htm
• Archive.org hosts six pages from the publication from which this leaf originates: https://archive.org/details/images_KG02_46
• Christie’s Auctions provides a detailed description of the publication: https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/books-manuscripts-photographs-middle-ages-moon/antoninus-florentinus-1389-1459-19/116504

Price & Shipping:
AU$386 (approximately US$273.20 / €230.14 / £200.08), including worldwide express shipping.
Please note that import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you’re interested in this rare glimpse into 15th-century Nuremberg scholarly life, don’t hesitate to contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I’m happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a smooth and safe transaction.