Prints and Principles

Most of the recent posts give details about individual prints and earlier posts discuss some of the subtle principles guiding artists in making images meaningful and memorable. For prints that are unsold, click "Items still available for sale" below. All other prints are no longer available. My contact email is oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com and my Instagram username is @printsandprinciples. I have created a separate blog to show my own work: https://printsandprinciplesjamesbrown.blogspot.com

Monday, 11 October 2021

Boëtius Adamsz. Bolswert’s engraving, “Horses”, 1611, after Abraham Bloemaert

Boëtius Adamsz. Bolswert (aka Boëtius Adamsz. Bolswerd) (1580–1633)

“Horses” (aka “Paarden”), 1611, plate 3 from a series of 12/14 engravings (the BM proposes 12 prints, but the Rijksmuseum and Roethlisberger advise that there are fourteen prints), “Animals” (aka “Pastoralen”), after Abraham Bloemaert (aka Abraham Bloemaart) (1564-1651) and published by Boëtius Adamsz. Bolswert.

Engraving on fine laid paper (with watermark) with wide margins.

Size: (sheet) 21 x 26.5 cm; (plate) 11 x 14.1 cm; (image borderline) 10.7 x 13.8 cm.

State i (of i)

Hollstein Dutch 326 (F.W.H. Hollstein 1950, “Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts c.1450-1700: Boekhorst–Brueghel”, vol. 3, Amsterdam, Menno Hertzberger, p. 67, cat. no. 326); Roethlisberger 137 (Marcel George Roethlisberger 1993, “Abraham Bloemaert and His Sons: Paintings and Prints,” vol. 1, Doornspijk, Davaco, p.168, cat. no. 137).

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Plate 3: Horses. Landscape with a large horse at centre, being saddled by a man standing behind the animal, another horse resting beyond, houses in background; after Abraham Bloemaert. 1611 Engraving” (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1875-0710-915).

See also the description of this print offered by the Rijksmuseum: http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.84275.

Roethlisberger (1993) offers the following insights about this print:
“The horse is saddled in order to serve man. The design show a characteristic device of many Bloemaertian compositions, the partial hiding of a figure behind some other form or behind a foreground plane. Horses appear rarely in Bloemaert” (p. 168).

Condition: a well-printed early impression showing no sign of wear to the printing plate with generously wide margins. Beyond a dot above the figure’s hand, the sheet is in a near pristine (museum quality) condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, significant stains, foxing or signs of handling.

I am selling this superb impression of a rare and very beautiful engraving of horses that (arguably) heralds the later Dutch and Flemish fascination with bucolic scenes featuring animals, for the total cost of AU$314 (currently US$230.38/EUR198.78/GBP168.50 at the time of 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 masterwork of engraving executed in 1611, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.