Emblem illustration to Jacob Cats’ proverb, “Sensim amor sensus occupat” (Slowly sense of love takes over), 1627/59

Circle of Abraham Bloemaert (1564–1651) and Adriaen van der Venne (1589–1662)

“Sensim amor sensus occupat” (Slowly sense of love takes over), 1627/59, illustration to Jacob Cats’ (1577–1660) (known with respect and affection as “Father Cats”) “Proteus”, first published in 1618, and “Sinne- en minnebeelden” (Images of mind and memory), first published in 1627. This engraving is from the 1659 edition of “Alle de Wercken van den heere Jacob Cats …” (Complete Works of Jacob Cats), pages 11–12, with reversed image rendered with finer engraved craftsmanship than the first editions and with printed text on both sides (as published).

Engraving on fine laid paper with letterpress text recto and verso.

Size: (sheet) 35.5 x 20.9 cm; (plate) 12.3 x 12.8 cm; (image borderline) 12 x 12 cm

Inscribed on plate within the image borderline: (on tree trunk) “Crescent illæ / crescetis amores” (They grow love); (on pumpkin/marrow) “Phyllida amo / ante alias.” (Phyllida I love / before alias.)

Numbered and lettered above the plate: (left) "12"; (centre) “SENSIM AMOR SENSUS OCCUPAT. / VI.”

Lettered in two columns below the plate: “’tNeemt toe, men weet niet hoe. …” ("It's important, people do not know how. …)

Condition: faultless impression in pristine condition.

I am selling this magnificent, museum-quality leaf for the total cost of AU$187 (currently US$135.82/EUR119.16/GBP106.36 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this superb engraving of the highest quality, 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

My interest in the emblem prints associated with Jacob Cats—affectionately called “Father Cats” by the Dutch—is a sad story. What happened is that a couple of years ago I set out on a personal mission to visit the rather small church named, Kloosterkerk, in The Hague (Belgium), where Jacob Cats is supposed to be buried. The reason that my story is sad is not that I failed to find his burial site in the church, but that when I asked a very helpful church attendant where the great writer was buried I was first asked where I was from and on replying, “Australia”, I was then quizzed as to why any Australian would have an interest in the great writer … to which I answered with eyes bulging and truly shocked that "ALL Australians know about Father Cats as his proverbs are EVERYWHERE!" Mmm … a little bit of a stretched truth but I did discover that what remains of marvellous Jacob Cats is only a commemorative plaque on a column. Now that is VERY sad!

My understanding of this illustration and the accompanying text on the page is a synthesis of commentary explanations offered by the “Emblem Project Utrecht” (http://emblems.let.uu.nl/c162706.html#tr) and from tonight’s after-dinner conversation with our family polymath. The short version is that image shows the memory of a chap (hence the clouds around his hand) cutting the name of his lover, Phyllis (Phyllida)—the Greek name for leafy foliage or green bough—into the trunk of a lime tree. Over time the lover sees that his carved lady-love’s name grows in size as the tree “heals” itself in a similar way that his love has also grown. Interestingly, the growth of such an inscription on a tree does not “grow” higher but rather grows wider following the radial expansion of the trunk.

I should mention at this point that there are significant additional meanings, such as the moral imperative to parents to ensure that their vices are not introduced to their children or the vices will grow like the proverbial marks on trees shown here.

Jacob Matham’s engraving, “Abraham casting out Hagar”, 1603, after Abraham Bloemaert

Jacob Matham (1571–1631)

“Abraham casting out Hagar” (British Museum title) (aka “Abraham expels Hagar and Ishmael” (Rijksmuseum title); “The Dismissal of Hagar” (TIB title), 1603, engraving after the design by Abraham Bloemaert (1564 –1651) with privilege from Rudolph II of Habsburg, published by Jacob Matham in Haarlem.

Engraving on laid paper trimmed to the image borderline (with text lines removed) and lined with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet/image borderline) 43.9 x 35.7 cm

Inscribed on the plate within the image borderline a lower right: "Cum privil. Sa.Cæ. M. / Abrahamus Bloemaert Inven. I. Maetham Sculp. / et excudit A: 1603."

TIB 3 (4). 63 (147) (Walter L Strauss [ed.] 1980, "The Illustrated Bartsch 4: Netherlandish Artists", vol. 3. Abris Books, New York, p. 53); New Hollstein (Dutch & Flemish) 2.I (Jacob Matham); Hollstein 2.I; Roethlisberger 1993 69 (Marcel G Roethlisberger 1993, “Abraham Bloemaert and his sons: Paintings and prints, 2 vols); Bartsch III.147.63

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Abraham casting out Hagar (Genesis 21.14); Abraham gestures with his arm outstretched and Hagar weeps into a handkerchief; behind is a large dilapidated, picturesque farmhouse, after Bloemaert.”

(http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1504216&partId=1&searchText=matham+hagar&page=1)

See also the description of this print at the Rijksmuseum:

http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.collect.150511

Condition: exceptionally rare, well-inked and well-printed impression in very good condition (i.e. there are no significant tears, holes, abrasions, stains or foxing, but the upper left corner is fractured and there are chips along the sides of the print) trimmed to the image borderline and laid upon an archival support sheet of millennium quality washi paper.

I am selling this spectacular engraving that is not only large in size but executed with skill and sensitivity of the highest order—this is a VERY good print—for AU$430 in total (currently US$330.03/EUR268.58/GBP234.23 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this major engraving from 1603, 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

What fascinates me when looking at this stunning engraving by Jacob Matham is how seamlessly he is able to draw together the poetic spirit of Abraham Bloemaert, who designed the composition, with Matham’s own distinctive manner of engraving. I should also mention at this point, that Matham’s style of rendering forms, using strong tonal contrasts and focus on textures, also drew inspiration from his stepfather—the great Hendrik Goltzius—whose workshop Matham had taken over only three years before this print was published.

Regarding Matham’s interest in preserving the spirit of Bloemaert’s vision in translating the original drawing into this engraving, note that Matham has employed Bloemaert’s very idiocentric way of portraying figures by showing them with fleshy hands, rounded facial features and curiously rumpled clothes—note especially the rumpled fringe of Hagar’s dress, Abraham’s elegantly battered hat balanced precariously on his head and the eyebrowless oval heads of Hagar and Ishmael.

Adamsz. Bolswert’s etching (with engraving), “Farmhouses”, 1614

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

“Farmhouses”, 1614, plate 5 from the series of 20 plates, “Landscapes with Farmhouses”, after a drawing by Abraham Bloemaert (aka Abraham Bloemaart) (1564–1651) held in the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris. (See the complete series in the British Museum nos. D,7.112-129 and D,7.162)

Etching with engraving on fine laid paper trimmed outside the image borderline with thread margins

Size: (sheet) 15.1 x 24.4 cm

Numbered on plate within the image borderline to the right of shading at the left corner: “5” (almost completely erased).

Roethlisberger 1993 234 (Marcel Roethlisberger & Marten Jan Bok 1993, “Abraham Bloemaert and his sons: Paintings and prints”, 2 vols, Ghent, cat. no. 234, pp. 196–7); Hollstein 342

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Plate 5: Farmhouses. Landscape with a man seen from behind in central foreground and carrying two buckets, a house with thatched roof beyond, some large jugs lying around; after Abraham Bloemaert.”

(http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3058305&partId=1&people=132004&peoA=132004-2-23&page=1)

See also the description of the print at the Rijksmuseum: http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.collect.84304

Condition: crisp, well-printed, museum-quality impression in pristine/faultless condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains or foxing), trimmed outside the image borderline with thread margins.

I am selling this superb impression of an exceptionally rare print, for the total cost of AU$287 (currently US$224.80/EUR186.29/GBP165.72 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this marvellously expressive mannerist landscape revealing a vision of landscape forms so soft that they seem shaped like clay, 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

This image of farmhouses is far from an everyday way of looking at them. They are what I wish to describe as “special.”

I can envisage that a viewer could see this print by Bolswert as simply a well-executed copy of his former master’s—Abraham Bloemaert’s—drawing. From my way of looking at the linework, however, this is not the case. Bolswert’s lines have a uniquely personal, signature-like, quality to them. In short, this print is not a line-for-line copy of the original drawing based on close observation, but rather it is a translation of what Bolswert saw in Bloemaert’s drawing by the sense of touch. In short, Bolswert has reshaped this rural scene like a blind person might model the form of how each featured subject “feels” like in terms of tactile (haptic) sensory experience.

Engraving after Jacob Matham and Abraham Bloemaert, “Parable of the Demon Who, While the Workers Slept, Sowed Weeds among the Wheat”, c.1652

Unidentified engraver from the circle of Jacob Matham

“Parable of the Demon Who, While the Workers Slept, Sowed Weeds among the Wheat” (Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-40), c.1652, from the series of 130 engravings (plus title-page). “Historiae Sacrae Veteris et Novi Testamenti” (a Picture Bible), in reverse after Jacob Matham (1571–1631) (TIB 4[3].75[150]), after a drawing by Abraham Bloemaert (aka Abraham Bloemaart) (1564–1651), published by Nicolaes Visscher I (aka Claes Claesz Visscher) (1618–79).

Engraving on laid paper, watermarked with "Great Coat of Arms Crowned", lined onto a conservator’s support sheet.

Size: (sheet trimmed unevenly) 46.5 x 62.5 cm; (plate) 41 x 53.5 cm; (image borderline) 36.5 x 52.5 cm

Lettered with production details, in lower left and right of the image: "Abraham Bloemaert inventor" and "CIViβcher Excu.". Lettered in the lower margin with biblical verse in Latin: "DUM DORMIUNT HOMINES INIMICUS ZIZANIA INTERSERIT TRITICO. Math. 13. 24."

Hollstein 488 (after A. Bloemaert); Roethlisberger 1993 84; Hollstein undescribed (Visscher)

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“The Parable of the Tares among the Wheat (Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-40 - while the farmers sleep, the devil sows weeds among the wheat); large trees in the central foreground with three sleeping figures in the shade at right; beyond some farm buildings and at left a horned figure sowing …” (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3465957&partId=1&searchText=ABRAHAM+BLOEMAERT+devil&page=1)

Condition: strong impression of this large engraving. The sheet has generous margins and the original centre fold is visible but flattened as the sheet has been laid onto a conservator’s support sheet of millennium quality washi paper.  The margins show signs of use as there are marks and small tears (addressed by the support sheet).

I am selling exceptionally large and very beautiful—perhaps even magnificent—engraving in reverse after Jacob Matham for AU$403 (currently US$306.28/EUR273.56/GBP239.26 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this spectacular print, 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

For those (like me) who may be unfamiliar with the growing of wheat during Biblical times, the plant called “tares” that the devil—note his horns and tail—is shown sowing in the ploughed field “is an injurious weed resembling corn when young.” Specifically, it is “Lolium temulentum, a species of rye-grass, the seeds of which are a strong soporific poison. It bears the closest resemblance to wheat till the ear appears, and only then the difference is discovered. It grows plentifully in Syria and Palestine.” (see http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/tares/).

The significance of the devil sowing tares in this illustration of the parable, Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-40, is that this deadly weed “if eaten, produce[s] convulsions, and even death” (op.cit.) but the point of the parable is NOT that the farm workers should have being diligent in their duties to detect this plant and failed because they are sleeping when they should be working. Instead, I understand that farm workers should not be diligent and leave the tares in the field until it matures and extract it at that time.

Mindful that “proper”/best farm practice is to leave tares to mature rather than early extraction fits well with Jesus’ teachings that non-believers should not be hunted down and rooted out from the field of faithful, as was the case during the dreadful times of the Inquisition, the Crusades and the reign of “Bloody Mary.” Instead, the false followers should be left for God’s will and by leaving the non-believers undisturbed with the faithful will prevent “immature and innocent believers” from being hurt during any process of extraction. (see https://www.gotquestions.org/parable-wheat-tares.html) 

(Please note that I am presently an agnostic and so my knowledge of Church scripture is superficial ... despite having been an altar boy “on the Gospel side” in my early youth.)

Jan Saenredam’s engraving, Without Bacchus and Ceres, Venus Freezes”, c.1600

Jan Saenredam (c.1565–1607)

“Sine Cerere et Baccho friget Venus” (Without Bacchus and Ceres, Venus Freezes), c.1600, after Abraham Bloemaert (1564–1651), published by Jacques Razet (fl.1589–1609)

Engraving on laid paper trimmed to (or slightly within) the image borderline.

Size: (sheet) 26.6 x 19.9 cm

Lettered with the title in the margin and two columns of text, each four lines "Ipsa Venus ... locum." by "SSH" (Simon Sovius). In lower left corner "Abrah. Blom. inv ISaenredam sculps.t" and at right "Iacobus Razet divulgavit.".

TIB 4 (3). 27 (228) (Walter L Strauss [Ed.] 1980, “The Illustrated Bartsch”, vol. 3, p. 337); Bartsch III.229.28 (Bartsch, Adam, Le Peintre graveur, 21 vols, Vienna, 1803); Roethlisberger 1993 59 (Roethlisberger, Marcel G; Röthlisberger, Marcel G, Abraham Bloemaert and his sons: Paintings and prints, 2 vols, Ghent, 1993); Hollstein 75 (Hollstein, F W H, Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts c.1450-1700, Amsterdam, 1949); Nagler 28

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Venus accompanied by Bacchus, holding a bunch of grapes, Ceres, holding a sickle and Cupid, reaching towards the grapes; after Bloemaert”

(http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1490187&partId=1&searchText=saenredam+ceres&page=1)

Condition: richly inked and crisp early impression, trimmed to the image borderline (or slightly within it). The sheet shows light age-toning and there are stains, chipping of the corners and a small closed tear in the text area. There is a collector's stamp and traces of mounting (verso).

I am selling this VERY famous engraving by Saenredam that is seldom seen on the market for the total cost of AU$678 (currently US$509.50/EUR466.94/GBP394.46 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this major print that has many scholarly articles written about it, 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

Hendrick Goltzius’ influence on his pupil, Jan Saenredam, is hard to overlook in this print. My eyes, for instance, are drawn to the disciplined use of curved and subtly swelling contour strokes that exemplify what became known as Goltzius’ “Sprangerism”—a pejorative term for Goltzius’ fascination with the Mannerist excesses of Bartholomeus Spranger. Perhaps even more revealing is Saenredam’s adoption of Goltzius’ hallmark visual device: the dotted lozenge—a device designed to produce smooth tonal transitions by inserting a dot in the diamond shapes created by cross-hatched lines.

Regarding the curious title of this print, “Without Bacchus and Ceres, Venus Freezes”, the meaning symbolised by each of the mythological figures is simple: love grows cold without food and wine. Perhaps the best explanation is offered by Emily J. Peters (et al.) in the 2009 exhibition catalogue, “The Brilliant Line: Following the Early Modern Engraver, 1480-1650”:

“Drawing upon a Roman farce by Terence explained by the 16th-century humanist Erasmus, this image illustrates the idea that food and drink, the gifts of Ceres and Bacchus, nourish desire, as embodied by Venus. Saenredam united the three gods with reverberating reflections across the image and with a circular composition in which their limbs overlap. Cupid, god of lust, incites the desire, as he reaches to pluck one of Venus’s grapes.” (http://risdmuseum.org/art_design/objects/435_venus_grows_cold_without_ceres_and_bacchus_love_grows_cold_without_food_and_wine) 

Jan Saenredam’s engraving, “Elijah Fed by Two Ravens in the Desert”, after Abraham Bloemaert

This post is a relisting of an earlier discussion about Jan Saenredam's engraving, “Elijah Fed by Two Ravens in the Desert”, because the print has been recently restored.

Jan Saenredam (c.1565–1607)

“Elijah Fed by Two Ravens in the Desert” (Elie nourri dans le desert par deux corbeaux), 1604, after Abraham Bloemaert (1564–1651), from the series “The prophet Elijah.”

Engraving trimmed to the image borderline on laid paper and supported on a conservator’s sheet of fine washi paper.

Size: (sheet) 16.8 x 19.5 cm

Lettered in lower left corner "Abraham Bloemaert inuen. / Joan, Saenredam Sculp, et excudebat / Ao [] 1604." In the margin two columns of text, each two lines "Jusserat irriguas ... cadente recedit" by "TSchrevelius".

The British Museum offer the following description of this print:

“Elijah fed by ravens; Elijah sits on the ground in the wilderness and reaches up to receive a piece of fruit from the beak of a raven (1 Kings 17:2-7); after Bloemaert. 1604” (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1490208&partId=1&searchText=Abraham+Bloemaert+Saenredam&page=1)

Bartsch (1803) III.226.22 (Bartsch, Adam, “Le Peintre graveur”, 21 vols, Vienna, 1803); Bartsch (1980) IV.22, p. 331; Hollstein 14 (Hollstein, F W H, “Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts c.1450-1700”, Amsterdam, 1949); Roethlisberger 1993 81 (Roethlisberger, Marcel G; Röthlisberger, Marcel G, “Abraham Bloemaert and his sons: Paintings and prints”, 2 vols, Ghent, 1993); Nailer 22; Wurzbach 23

Condition: crisp impression, trimmed to the image borderline and supported on a conservator’s sheet of fine washi paper. There is a restored stain towards the centre of the right side that is now indistinct and a few scattered speck stains, otherwise the print is in marvellous condition.

I am selling this rare, old master engraving for a total cost of AU$346 (currently US$263.27/EUR240.30/GBP216.32 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world. If you are interested in purchasing this sublimely drawn engraving, 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

To my eyes Saenredam has given a “spark of life” to his representation of the trees shown in this print. I love the way that they seem to respond to the ravens descending with food for the prophet by arching in a rhythm to almost give the birds a better flight-path access to him. This subtle treatment of the trees may be a very small component in the composition but it is elements like this that make the image strong.

Frederick Bloemaert’s engraving after Abraham Bloemaert from “Het Tekenboek”

Frederick Bloemaert (1610–69) after Abraham Bloemaert (1564–1651) from “Het Tekenboek” (Artistic drawing book)

“Plate 130: Study of three heads, one wearing a turban, and a hand”, 1650–56

Engraving on fine laid paper and margins as published.

Size: (sheet)  30.6 x 19.7 cm; (plate) 20 x 14.8 cm; (image borderline) 19.1 x 14.2 cm.

Inscribed in the lower-right corner with the plate number: “130”

Roethlisberger 1993; Hollstein 186–231 (Frederik Bloemaert); Hollstein 94–213 (prints after Abraham Bloemaert).

Condition: crisp and well-inked impression with full margins and binding holes on the left (as published). There is age-toning/darkening towards the edges, light surface dustiness, a few minor spots and signs of use such as light pencil marks from the former life of the print as a teaching aid; otherwise the sheet is in good condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, significant stains or foxing).

I am selling this spectacularly beautiful engraving showing the highest order of technical skill for [deleted] at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this early plate from one of the most famous books created for artists to copy, 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

This print is from one of the most famous and earliest instructional books on drawing designed for artists: “Het Tekenboek”, first published in the mid-1600s. I am uncertain which edition of the book this print is from, but clearly this is an early impression. The reason that I can arrive at such a determination is simple: the lines are crisp indicating that the printing plate is fresh (i.e. it has no sign of wear). Moreover, the paper has the tell-tale attribute of an early print: chain-lines (i.e. watermark-like lines which can be seen when laid paper is held up to a light revealing widely-spaced lines—the chain-lines—intersecting at 90 degrees with narrowly-spaced lines—the laid lines) signifying a paper created before machine-made paper (i.e. wove paper that was purportedly first manufactured in 1807).

Mindful that there are impressions in the reverse direction to the original designs, again, I am not certain if this is a mirror impression or not. What I am certain about is that this impression is engraved by the hand of a master showing exquisite use of cross-hatching, especially the famous “dotted lozenge”, in modelling light and shade in a fluid way.

Interestingly, the fluidity of this tonal treatment is a hallmark of the Utrecht Mannerists, like Hendrik Goltzius and Bartholomaus Spranger, who cast a strong influence over the Bloemaerts’ workshop. Of course, my judgement may be misguided and I look forward to comments from historians with information regarding the likely edition of this particular impression.