Antonio Domenico Gabbiani, “Bust of an Old Man”, published 1762

Antonio Domenico Gabbiani (1652–1726)

“Bust of an Old Man” (Busto di Vecchio), published 1762

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on laid paper. This is Plate XXX (30) from the celebrated series of 101 numbered plates, “Raccolta di cento Pensieri diversi di Anton Domenico Gabbiani […] fatti intagliare in rame da Ignazio Enrico Hugford…” Published in Florence by Nella Stamperia Mouchiana in 1762.

Note on Attribution: While the vast majority of the prints in this series were executed posthumously by prominent 18th-century engravers after Gabbiani's drawings, Plate XXX is a rare and important exception. As confirmed by Paolo Bellini (2005 [TIB]) in his discussion of the series (p.19), this plate is one of only three in the entire series etched by Anton Domenico Gabbiani himself during his lifetime, making it an authentic, autograph print by the master's own hand.

The impression is a strong and well-printed early impression—based on the crisp quality of the line showing no sign of wear to the printing plate. The sheet is in near pristine condition, free of tears, holes, folds, or stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 15.8 x 10.7 cm
• Platemark: 7.1 x 5.5 cm

In-Plate Lettering:

• Lower left: “A.D.Gab. f.”
• Lower centre: “XXX”

References:

• TIB 0728.002 (Paolo Bellini, “The Illustrated Bartsch: Italian Masters of the Seventeenth Century”, Vol. 47, Commentary Part 3, 2005, Abaris Books, p. 19, cat. no. [4728] .002)
• Archive.org: View this print in its original context via the Internet Archive Digital Copy: https://archive.org/details/frick-31072003862515/page/n27/mode/2up
• Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET): https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/351887  
• British Museum: Catalogued under museum number 1854,1211.401.32—https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1854-1211-401-32. (Note: British Museum Record 1854,1211.401.31—https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1854-1211-401-31—incorrectly titles its entry “Plate 31: portrait of a woman” while hosting the image for Plate XXX; the text details are correctly matched to Plate XXX under Record 1854,1211.401.32).

Price & Shipping:

AU$259 (approximately US$178.63 / €157.16 / £135.53), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

To acquire this small and rare etching that is one of the only five plates known to have been executed by an artist considered by his contemporaries to be the “most outstanding representative of the late Seicento Tuscan school” (Bellini, 2005 [TIB], p. 17), please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. Secure payment is handled via PayPal invoice for a smooth, protected transaction.

This print has been sold 

Jean Désiré Ringel d’Illzach, “Salon de 1881: Médaillons Terre-Cuite”, 1881

Jean Désiré Ringel d’Illzach (1847–1916)
“Salon de 1881: Médaillons Terre-Cuite” (Salon of 1881: Terracotta Medallions), 1881

 Ringel d'Illzach was a prominent French sculptor and master medallist (médailleur) who created this print to document his highly celebrated terracotta submissions to the 1881 Paris Salon.

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching with aquatint printed in bistre-coloured ink on laid paper with generously wide margins. The sheet has been professionally laid on archival washi paper to ensure support and stability. This is a proof-state impression before lettering for publication.

It is a strong artist’s proof-quality impression that is crisp and evenly printed. Aside from surface dustiness to the outer edges of the margin and a small white mark on the head of the woman—possibly occurring during printing—the sheet is in very good condition, free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, and significant stains.

 Important Presentation Inscription:

The upper right margin features a historic pencil notation in a contemporary hand reading: “Cuivre offert à soumettre à M. Gaucherel” (translating to: "Copper plate offered to be submitted to Mr. Gaucherel"). This directly references Léon Gaucherel (1816–1886), the highly influential etcher and Art Director of the prestigious French art journal L'Art, confirming this sheet's status as a rare, pre-publication review proof.

 Breakdown of the Medallions & Figures:

 

• Upper Left: Alexis Coquet (1845–1919)—though the inscription contains a historical artist misspelling that reads “COGNIER”. Coquet operated a highly respected Parisian foundry that collaborated with avant-garde sculptors to realise their complex low-relief models into finished bronze.
• Upper Left-of-Centre: Victor Laloux (1850–1937) Laloux famously designed the Gare d'Orsay (now the iconic Musée d'Orsay) and the Gare de Tours.
• Upper Right-of-Centre: René Princeteau (1843–1914)—the inscription utilises a classical Latin style 'V' for the 'U' in his surname. Princeteau was the primary mentor and first artistic teacher of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
• Upper Right: Ringel d’Illzach (1847–1916) The artist’s own self-portrait depicts him wearing a traditional artisan cap.
• Middle Left: Lucien Pallez (1853–1932) Pallez is an academic sculptor who regularly exhibited alongside Ringel at the Paris Salons.
• Middle Right: Gaston Braun (1845–1928) Braun was the director of the legendary fine-art publishing house, Maison Braun (Braun & Cie), that reproduced and popularised Salon artworks.
• Lower Left: Albert-Louis Dammouse (1848–1926) Dammouse was an influential French Art Nouveau ceramicist, sculptor, and glassmaker famed for his innovative pâte-de-verre (glass paste) techniques.
• Lower Centre — "En Promenade” (On a Stroll): This central, jagged high-relief sculpture depicts a modern bohemian couple on an outdoor walk—the man confidently sporting a bowler hat and smoking, while the woman wears a striking domino mask. The title “EN PROMENADE” is carved directly into the left side of the block in rustic capital letters. It features the artist's prominent interlocking “RI” monogram, making it a key focal point of his 1881 Salon portfolio.
• Lower Right: Domenico Boero A French figure of the period—possibly an opera singer, performer, or musician—popular within Parisian avant-garde circles during the early 1880s.

 Dimensions:

• Sheet: 31.8 x 46 cm
• Platemark: 14.3 x 22.1 cm
• Image borderline: 12.8 x 20.7 cm

In-Plate Lettering:

• Left: “SALON / DE / 1881”
• Lower right: “Ringel sc.t et aq.-f.”
• Right: “MEDAILLONS TERRE-CVITE” 

Note that each of the medals depicted in this etching are signed by the artist and dated according to the year originally inscribed on the terracotta.

Catalogue Raisonné & Archival References:

 

• The Paris Salon Directory: Documented as an original etcher's record of the artist's celebrated terracotta sculptures exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français of 1881.
• Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BnF): Prints of this subject and Ringel's wider portrait medallions are held in the permanent collection of the Cabinet des Estampes at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
• Beraldi Reference: This print belongs to Ringel d'Illzach's highly regarded graphic output as an engraver and etcher (graveur-aquafortiste), catalogued under the broader late-19th-century French printmaker indices by Henri Beraldi (Les Graveurs du XIXe Siècle).
• The Rothschild Collection Connection: The permanent collection at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tourcoing (Alphonse de Rothschild Donation) houses the sister series of these exact portraits cast as a master frame of twelve bronze medallions, making this etching the vital primary documentary record of those designs.

Price & Shipping:

AU$278 (approximately US$191.99 / €171.50 / £145.95), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

To acquire this rare and important proof-state etching showcasing some of the leading luminaries of late 19th-century French artistic life, please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. Secure payment is handled via PayPal invoice for a smooth, protected transaction.

Villeneuve & Adam, “Cours de la Massa”, 1828

Louis Jules Frédéric Villeneuve (1796–1842) and Victor Adam (1801–1866)

“Cours de la Massa” (The course of the Massa River)—the Massa is a glacial river fed by the Aletsch glacier, coursing through a deep gorge, the Massaschlucht, in Valais, Switzerland, before flowing into the Rhône, 1828

Technical Details & Condition:

Lithograph printed on pale grey chine collé on heavy wove paper, with wide margins. It was published by Engelmann & Cie as Plate 23 in a series of 31 lithographs illustrating the fourth volume of Adrien de Golbéry’s “Lettres sur la Suisse” (Letters on Switzerland) that focused on the Lake Geneva, Chamonix, and Valais regions. The lithograph was printed by Godefroy Engelmann I (1788–1839) in Paris, after a drawing by Louis Jules Frédéric Villeneuve executed from direct observation (en plein air) of the surrounding landscape and studies of the figures by Victor Adam (also known as Victor Jean Adam and Victor Vincent Adam) (1801–1866).

The impression is strong and evenly printed. Aside from a small dot in the margin at lower left and slight waviness to the margin at right, the sheet is in excellent condition, free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, and significant stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 47.1 x 30.3 cm
• Chine collé: 30.4 x 21.7 cm
• Image borderline: 28.2 x 19.5 cm

In-Plate Lettering:

• Upper left corner: “4^e: P.” (abbreviation signifying that this print is part [Partie] of the fourth volume of “Lettres sur la Suisse”)
• Upper right corner: “Pl. 23.”
• Lower left: “Villeneuve 1828. Fig par V. Adam.”  
• Lower centre: “COURS DE LA MASSA”
• Lower right: “Lith. de Engelmann, rue du Faub. Montmartre N: 6 à Paris.”

References:

• Jean-Victor de Constant Rebecque & Philippe-Amédée de Golbéry, Lettres sur la Suisse, Fourth Part (Lake Geneva, Chamonix, Valais), Paris: Godefroy Engelmann, 1827/1828, Plate 23
• Nicolas-Philibert Adelon (ed.), Bibliothèque helvétique: ou Recueil de pièces concernant la Suisse, Vol. 4, Paris, 1827
• French National Library (Bibliothèque nationale de France), Department of Prints and Photography (Département des Estampes et de la photographie), Ser. Lettres sur la Suisse
• Hamburger Kunsthalle: https://online-sammlung.hamburger-kunsthalle.de/de/objekt/kb-1863-85-524-IV-30
• Henri Beraldi, Les Graveurs du Dix-Neuvième Siècle: Saint-Marcel – Zwinger, Vol. XII, Paris: Librairie L. Conquet, 1892, pp. 242–243 (Discusses Villeneuve’s Alpine landscape series generally; this specific plate unlisted)

Price & Shipping:

AU$222 (approximately US$154.46 / €135.12 / £116.68), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

Capturing the thrilling peril of 19th-century Alpine adventure, this dramatic scene pits hunter-adventurers against a breathless abyss and a terrifyingly fragile footbridge. To acquire this exceptional lithograph, please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. Secure payment is handled via PayPal invoice for a smooth, protected transaction.

Adolphe Appian, “Avant la Pluie, Village de Villeneuve”, 1869

Adolphe Appian (also known as Jacques Barthélemy Appian) (1818–1898)

“Avant la Pluie, Village de Villeneuve” (Before the Rain, Village of Villeneuve), 1869

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on tissue-thin buff-coloured Japanese laid paper, with generously wide margins. It is an exceptionally rare proof-state impression before lettering for publication. The sheet bears a pencil inscription by an unknown hand along the lower edge (recto) providing details of the title and artist. 

The impression is strong and well-printed—a flawless proof! Aside from the pencil inscription, the sheet is in pristine condition, free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, or handling marks..

Dimensions:

• Sheet (slightly uneven): 28.9 x 39.8 cm
• Platemark (soft): 16 x 22.8 cm
• Image borderline: 12.3 x 21.1 cm

In-Plate Lettering:

• Upper left corner: “APPIA[N] 1889”

References:

• Curtis & Prouté 28 i (Atherton Cutiis & Paul Prouté, “Adolphe Appian son Oeuvre Gravé et Lithographié”, 1968, Paris, Paul Prouté, [n.p.] cat. no. 28 i)
• Jennings 25 (Herbert H Jennings, Adolphe Appian (essay) in “Print Collector’s Quarterly,” vol. 12, 1925, no. 1, p. 115, cat. no. 25)—see https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/print_collectors_quarterly1925/0134/scroll (scroll to find the page 115)

Philip Gilbert Hamerton’s insight:

In Hamerton’s 1876 edition of “Etching and Etchers”, he offers the following insights about Appian’s work:“…his [Appian’s] work is that each plate, however large or however small it may be, is conceived from the first as a whole, and the first conception is never departed from for the disproportionate realisation of some obtrusive detail.” Further: “…Appian sees always in masses, and gives quite as much detail as is consistent with the preservation of the mass” (pp. 202–03)

Price & Shipping:

AU$316 (approximately US$221.32 / €193.19 / £167.59), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

To acquire this exceptionally rare and beautiful proof-state impression by an artist with a strong personal vision of his surroundings and a close connection with the Barbizon School, please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. Secure payment is handled via PayPal invoice for a smooth, protected transaction.

This print has been sold