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Thursday 14 February 2019

Jan Collaert II's engraving, “Hunter Caught in Pit”, c1596


Jan Collaert II (aka Hans Collaert; Jan Baptist I Collaert) (c1561–c1620)

“Hunter Caught in Pit” (aka “Inexperienced Hunter Attacked by Snakes” [BM title];  “Jager gevangen in kuil” [Rijksmuseum title]), c1596, from the series of 104 engraved plates of hunting scenes, “Venationes Ferarum, Avium, Piscium” (With wild beasts, birds, fish), after the design by Jan van der Straet (mostly known as Joannes Stradanus) (1523–1605), with text by Cornelis Kiliaan (1528–1607), published by Philips Galle (1537–1612) in Antwerp.

Engraving on laid paper trimmed with small margins around the image borderline at top and sides and retaining the text box, backed with a support sheet.
Size: (sheet) 19.9 x 27 cm; (image borderline) 18.3 x 26.7 cm
Inscribed on plate within the image borderline: (lower left corner) “Ioan. Stradanus invent. / I. Collaert Sculp. Phls Galle exc.”.
Lettered on plate below the image borderline in two lines of Latin in two columns: “Sæpe quidem .../ …// …/ ..esca Colubris.”
Lifetime impression; state i (of iv) before numbering.

New Hollstein (Dutch & Flemish) 1517.I (3) (The Collaert Dynasty); New Hollstein (Dutch & Flemish) 504.I (4) (Johannes Stradanus); Baroni Vannucci 1997 693.42 (Alessandra Baroni Vannucci 1997, “Jan van der Straet, detto Giovanni Stradano, flandrus pictor et inventor”, Milan, Jandi Sapi Editori)

The Rijksmuseum offers the following description of this print:
(transl.) “In a landscape hunted deer and rabbits. Near a few ruins a careless hunter has fallen into a pit with snakes. Although his friends try to pull him out of the pit with a rope, their attempts are too late. The man is bitten and strangled by snakes. The print has a Latin caption and is part of a series about hunting scenes.”
See also the description offered by the British Museum:
“Inexperienced Hunter Attacked by Snakes; in the centre foreground, a hunter is attacked by snakes in the vaults of a ruined building, which is seen beyond; above, three companions attempt to rescue him with a rope; in the left mid ground, a hunter on horseback chases a deer, while two hounds pursue a rabbit in the left foreground” (https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1620278&partId=1&people=128853&peoA=128853-2-60&page=1)

Regarding other plates in this series, see Alessandra Baroni & Manfred Sellink 2012, “Stradanus 1523–1605: Court Artist of the Medici", Turnhout, Brepols Publishers, pp.245–58, cat. nos. 32-49.

Condition: richly inked and well printed early impression trimmed with small margins around the image borderline (retaining the text box) and laid on a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper. There are small losses and restorations (virtually invisible).

I am selling this curious scene of a hunter who has fallen into a subterranean chamber and is being bitten by leaping snakes as he is hauled up on a rope by rescuers for the total cost of AU$286 (currently US$189.08/EUR167.75/GBP147.69 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world (but not, of course, any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries).

If you are interested in purchasing this alarming and amazing image created only 84 years after Michelangelo finished work on the Sistine Chapel, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.


This print has been sold











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