Gallery of prints for sale

Thursday 12 September 2019

Nicolaas de Bruyn's engraving, “Julius Caesar”, 1594


Nicolaas de Bruyn (aka Nicolaas de Bruin; Nicolaes de Bruyn) (1571–1656)

“Julius Caesar”, 1594, plate 3 from the series of nine engravings, “Ornament Designs with Portraits of Kings and Heroes”, originally published by Ahasuerus van Londerseel (aka Assuerus Londerssel) (1572–1635) in Antwerp. (Note that this impression has Van Londerseel’s publication details partly erased.)

Engraving on fine laid paper trimmed along the platemark and backed with a support sheet.
Size: (sheet) 12.4 x 9.2 cm; (image borderline) 11.7 x 9.1 cm.
Inscribed on plate: (within the cartouche) “Julius caesar”; (below the image borderline) “3 Nicola de Br fe … [partly erased “Assuwerus van Londerseel”] excudit.”
State ii (of iii) with the publisher’s name burnished but before the number “3” is repositioned to the lower right (see the Rijksmuseum’s copy of state i [http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.collect.89015] and state iii [http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.collect.89017]).   

Hollstein Dutch 157–2; Berlin 1939 237.1 (P Jessen 1939, “Katalog der Ornamentstichsammlung der Staatlichen Kunstbibliothek Berlin”, Berlin); New Hollstein (Dutch & Flemish) 265.I (Nicolaes de Bruyn); Orn Cat I 33–2 (Irene Margaretha de Groot 1988, “Ornamentprenten in het Rijksprentenkabinet”, Amsterdam, Rijksprentenkabinet, Rijksmuseum Staatsuitgeverij, p. 33, cat. no. 33.2).

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:
“Roundel containing the portrait of the Roman Emperor Julius Ceasar [sic] surrounded by decorative elements, including two monkeys holding flags and swords and above two winged cherubs blowing into horns.”

See also the description of this print offered by the Rijksmuseum:
(transl.) “Portrait of Julius Caesar as a general of antiquity in a medallion within a rectangular frame with ornaments in the form of monkeys, fantasy creatures and butterflies”.

Condition: richly inked early impression with stains and restorations of the corners, trimmed along the platemark and laid upon an archival support sheet of millennium quality washi paper.

I am selling this gorgeous jewel of an engraving glowing with strong contrasts for AU$340 in total (currently US$234.01/EUR212.16/GBP189.90 at the time of posting this print) 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 very fine engraving with a fascinating range of animals and insects worthy of close examination—see the two beautifully drawn mice that are only slightly larger than grape seeds and trumpet blowing zephyrs sporting the best hair ponytails ever created—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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