Hieronymus Wierix’s engraving, “Descent from the Cross”, c1590

Hieronymus Wierix (aka Jerome Wierix) (1553–1619)

“Descent from the Cross” (aka “La Descente de Croix”; “The Deposition of Christ” [BM title]), c1590, from the series, “The Passion of Christ”, consisting of either fifteen engravings (including the title plate) as proposed by the British Museum (see inv. no. 1859,0709.3062), or plate 7 in a suite of nine plates as advised in Mauquoy-Hendrickx’s (1978) catalogue raisonné for the Wierx brothers (see vol. 1, p. 31), published by Hieronymus Wierix in Antwerp with privilege granted by Joachim de Buschere.

Engraving on laid paper trimmed slightly within the platemark and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 9.7 x 6.3 cm.

Inscribed in plate within the image borderline: (upper right corner) “fol./ 283.”

Lettered below the image borderline: (centre) “Deponentes eum de ligno, posuerunt/ in momumento. Actor. 11./ Hieronymus Wierx fecit et excud. Cum Gratïa et Priuilegio. Buschere”

State ii (of ii) with the addition of text at upper right (“fol./ 283.”).

Mauquoy-Hendrickx 206 (Marie Mauquoy-Hendrickx 1978, “Les Estampes Des Wierix”, vol. 1, [text] p. 32, cat. no. 206, [ill.] p. 24); Hollstein 255 (Wierix).

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Descent from the Cross; St Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus seen lowering the body of Christ from the cross at centre; other figures seen on either side, including Virgin Mary with her hands clasped in prayer, seen to left, and the Magdalen seen on profile; various instruments of the Passion seen on the foreground, to right. Engraving” (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1859-0709-3062).

Condition: a strong and well-printed impression with restored tears to the upper corners and laid onto a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper.

I am selling this jewel-like masterwork of engraving for AU$303 in total (currently US$218.55/EUR192.15/GBP160.43 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 engraving by one of the most famous of the old master engravers—note that the incredibly fine detail in this image has been inscribed in a space about half the size of an iPhone screen and that each of the portrayed heads is smaller than a coffee bean!—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