Claude Mellan, “Victor le Bouthillier”, 1658

Claude Mellan (1598–1688)

“Victor le Bouthillier” (Inscribed as “Victor le Boutillier”), 1658

Description:

This portrait depicts Victor le Bouthillier (c. 1597–1670), Archbishop of Tours and first chaplain to the Duke of Orléans. It was engraved by Claude Mellan after his own original design. The preparatory drawing for this portrait is preserved in the Hermitage Museum (inv. no. 4627). Mellan’s virtuoso technique is evident here, employing swelling parallel contour lines to sculpt the three-dimensional form—completely avoiding traditional cross-hatching. This specialised mastery is a hallmark of Mellan’s style, exemplified in his renowned work, “The Sudarium of Saint Veronica” (1649).

Technical Details & Condition:

Engraving on fine laid paper, professionally backed with archival-quality washi paper for structural longevity and excellent margins.

This is the third state of four. In this state, the full biographical text below the borderline is present after the original acanthus-leaf frame was cut down for publication in Michel Odieuvre's portrait anthology “L'Europe illustre” (1755–1765). It precedes the later fourth state of 1781, in which the biographical details of the subject were entirely erased from the copperplate (as seen in the National Gallery of Art collection: https://www.nga.gov/artworks/73744-victor-le-bouthillier).

This is a strong, crisp, and evenly printed impression. The sheet is in near-immaculate condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, or structural defects.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 18.9 x 14.6 cm
• Platemark: 16.4 x 12.5 cm
• Image borderline: 14.2 x 11.6 cm

In-Plate Lettering (below the image borderline):

• Left: “Mellan Sculp.”
• Centre: “VICTOR LE BOUTILLIER / Archevȇque de Tours. / Mort le 12. Septembre 1670. Agé de 74. anné.” (Translation: Victor Le Bouthillier, Archbishop of Tours. Died September 12, 1670. Aged 74 years.)

References:

•  Montaiglon 175 (Anatole de Montaiglon, “Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre de Claude Mellan d'Abbeville”, 1856, Typographie de P. Briez, p. 150, cat. no. 175) —Available online via Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Anatole_de_Montaiglon_Catalogue_raisonn%C3%A9_de_l_oeuv?id=KlsCAAAAYAAJ
• IFF 163 (Maxime Préaud, “Inventaire du Fonds Français, Graveurs du XVIIe Siècle”, Vol 17, 1988, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Département des Estampes, pp. 113–14, cat. no. 163)—Available via Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Gallica): https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4227544w/f116.item
• Compare with the first state impression held at the Rijksmuseum: Object Number RP-P-OB-69.960— https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200232446

Price & Shipping:

AU$256 (approximately US$178.57 / €157 / £134.31), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this finely executed portrait—crafted entirely in light and shade through variations in the thickness of parallel lines—please contact me directly at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless transaction.

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.