Herman van Swanevelt, “Balaam and the Ass”, c. 1635

Herman van Swanevelt (aka Herman Swaneveld) (1603–1655)

“Balaam and the Ass” (TIB title) (aka “Balaam”; “Bileam en de ezel met de engel” [Balaam and the donkey with the angel]), c. 1635 (1629–1641), from the series, “Old Testament Representations” (“Oudtestamentische voorstellingen”), published in Paris by Pierre Mariette I (1596–1657) with royal privilege from Louis XIV (King of France). 

Etching on laid paper (grape watermark [French]) with reasonably wide margins.

Size: (sheet) 27.7 x 34.8 cm; (plate); 25.3 x 32 cm; (image borderline) 22.7 x 31.2 cm.

Hand-inscribed numbers in ink: (upper right corner) “40”; (lower right corner) “2”.

Lettered in plate within the image borderline: (upper right): “H Swaneûelt Fecit Rom.”.

Lettered in plate below the image borderline: (left) “Auec Priuil du Roy”; (centre) “A Paris chez Pierre Mariette Rue S^t Iacques a lésperance.”

State v (of viii) showing the publication details for Pierre Mariette before they were changed with publication details for Nicolas Jean Baptiste de Poilly in the sixth state.

TIB 2.111 (Mark Carter Leach & Peter Morse [eds.] 1978, “The Illustrated Bartsch: Netherlandish Artists”, vol. 2, Abaris Books, New York, p. 315); Hollstein Dutch 5

The Rijksmuseum offers the following description of this print: (transl.) “In a hilly landscape with trees, Balaam is depicted in the left foreground, seated on a recoiling donkey. In his right hand, he holds a sword, and before him stands an angel drawing a sword from its sheath” (https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200261014).

See also the description of this print offered by the British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_Sheepshanks-2299.

Condition: a strong and well-printed impression with good margins (approx. 1.5 cm). Beyond an area of thinness in the margin at upper right and partial erased pencil notations along the lower margin, the sheet is in an excellent condition with no significant stains or other issues.

Price & Shipping: AU$394 (approx. US$257.53/ €222.84/ £195.59), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in purchasing this rare and superb 17th-century impression of a beautiful etching by one of the foremost Dutch masters of the Baroque era—highlighting the luminous quality characteristic of the artist’s work and the dramatic interaction between Balaam and the angel, emphasised by a burst of light surrounding them—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I will gladly provide a secure and convenient PayPal invoice for your purchase.

This print has been sold