Sigismund Feyerabend / Monogrammist SF’s woodcut, “Delilah Betrays Samson”, c1565

 

Sigismund Feyerabend (aka Sigmund Feyerabend; Sigmund Feierabend; Sigismund Feyrabend) (1528–1590) / Monogrammist SF

Note that the British Museum proposes the argument that as Feyerabend “began as a wood-engraver in the workshop of Virgil Solis in Nuremberg in the 1550s, … he might be the Monogrammist SF who produced prints designed by Solis during that period (see https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG27037).

“Delilah Betrays Samson”, c1565 (1550–1580), after the design by either Jost Amman (aka Jost Ammon) (1539–1591) (see https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b105511026/f53.item#) or Johann Melchior Bocksberger (aka Johann Melchior Bocksperger) (1525/35–1587) (see https://www.worldcat.org/title/neuwe-biblische-figuren-dess-alten-vnd-neuwen-testaments/oclc/83989735) or possibly Virgil Solis (1514-1562)—mindful that Solis added woodcut borders to the 220 woodcut plates in the series—published 1562 (BM ed.) and 1564 (Gallica ed.) in Frankfurt am Main by Sigismund Feyerabend and printed by David Zöpfel (aka David Zephelius) (fl.c1555–1563) and Johann Rasch (aka Johann Rasch (fl.1556–1562) (see https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1870-0625-191-411) in “Neuwe biblische Figuren dess Alten und Neuwen Testaments …”.   

Woodcut on laid paper with letterpress German text verso, trimmed with a narrow margin around the image borderline and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 11.5 x 16.1 cm; (image borderline) 11 x 15.5 cm.

Monogrammed on plate at lower right: “SF”.

Condition: richly inked strong early impression showing little or no sign of wear to the printing plate with a narrow margin and laid onto a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper. The sheet is in an excellent condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, significant stains or foxing.

I am selling this very strong impression of a 16th century woodcut showing Delilah and a servant cutting a substantial lock of hair from Samson as he sleeps, for the total cost of AU$259 (currently US$197.08/EUR167.59/GBP142.45 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 fascinating woodcut with its invitation to contemplate the sequence of events in the narrative of Samson and Delilah—viz. (from left) the bed and beverage; the slumped Samson being shorn; soldiers arriving at the Delilah’s beckoning; soldiers shearing Samson of his hair—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 

Jost Amman’s woodcut, “The Apocalyptic Woman and the Seven-Headed Dragon”, c1564

Jost Amman (aka Jost Ammon) (1539–1591)

“The Apocalyptic Woman and the Seven-Headed Dragon” (TIB title), c1564, woodcut illustration after the design by Johann Melchior Bocksberger (1525/35–1587) to “Neue Biblische Figuren des Alten und Neuen Testaments”, published and printed by Sigmund Feierabend (1528–1590), Georg Rab (fl.1557–1580) and Weygand Han (fl.c.1550–1564) in Frankfurt am Main in 1564 (see https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b105511026/f138.item). This plate was also used in “Biblia” (aka “The Complete Holy Bible in German [translated by] Martin Luther”) published in Frankfurt am Main in 1565 (see full title and publication details in TIB, vol. 20, part 1, p. 244]).

For those unfamiliar with the subject illustrated by this woodcut, the description of the scene is from the “Book of Revelations”, Chapter 12, Verses 1–5 (NIV translation) “The Woman and the Dragon”:

“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.

She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.

Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads.

Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born”

(see https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+12&version=NIV).

Woodcut on early laid paper with German letterpress text verso, trimmed close to the image borderline and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 11.4 x 15.7 cm; (image borderline) 11.2 x 15.5 cm.

Lifetime impression (based on the quality of the line showing minimal signs of wear to the printing plate).

TIB 20 (9).1.132 (365) (Jane S Peters [ed.] 1985, “The Illustrated Bartsch: German Masters of the Sixteenth Century: Jost Amman: Intaglio Prints and Woodcuts”, vol. 20 [Part 1], New York, Abaris Books, p. 317, cat. no. 1.132 [365]).

Condition: strong/near faultless impression (with German letterpress text verso minimally visible) trimmed with a narrow margin around the image borderline and laid upon an archival support sheet of millennium quality washi paper. The sheet has mellowed with age-toning appropriate to its considerable age and is in excellent condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, losses, abrasions, stains, foxing or signs of use).

I am selling this high quality woodcut from 1564 by one of the most famous of the German old master printmakers, for AU$288 (currently US$201.86/EUR176.43/GBP159.95 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 superb old-master woodcut showing the eagle-winged woman of the apocalypse adorned with twelve stars standing on a crescent, with God above her receiving her new-born child, while the seven-headed beast is subdued by an angel amongst stars, 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

Jost Amman’s woodcut, “Samson rending the Lion”, 1564

Jost Amman (aka Jost Ammon) (1539–1591)

“Samson Rending the Lion” (Judg. 14), 1564, from “Biblia”, published by Sigmund Feierabend (1528–1590) in Frankfurt and most likely printed by Georg Rab (and/or Weygand Han?) as Rab had formed a consortium with Sigmund Feyerabend and the Han press in 1561 (see BM no. 1870,1008.1944). Based on other prints in “Biblia” this woodcut may be after the Austrian printmaker, Johann Melchior Bocksberger (1525/35–1587).

Woodcut on laid paper trimmed to the image borderline and lined upon a support sheet cradled within added margins

Size: (sheet including added margins) 22.4 x 26 cm; (image borderline) 11 x 15.5 cm

There are no inscriptions on the plate (but there may have been additional details in the margins that have been trimmed off.

I am unable to identify the edition or state of this print but it is clearly an early impression based on the lack of damage to the woodcut border that is broken at the lower edge shown in the impression reproduced in TIB, vol. 20 (Part 1), p. 267.

TIB 20 (Part 1) 1.39 (365) (Jane S Peters & Walter L Strauss [Eds.] 1985, “The Illustrated Bartsch: German Masters of the Sixteenth Century”, vol. 20 [Part 1], p. 267); B.12.30 (374); A.181.37, Becker 1.1.37

Condition: good, but far from perfect, impression from a slightly worn plate before the borderline was damaged (see note above). The sheet has been trimmed with narrow margins close to the image borderline and laid upon a conservator’s support sheet cradled within added margins of archival wove paper. There is a closed tear at the lower edge of the print that is now supported by the conservator’s sheet.

I am selling this graphically strong 16^th century image of Samson battling with a lion for the total cost of AU$138 (currently US$105.97/EUR91.13/GBP79.89 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing original woodcut print executed by one of the major old master German illustrators, 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

Jost Amman was a prodigious printmaker. To be frank, this is an understatement as anyone (like me) who has plodded their way through the two massive TIB (1985) volumes dedicated to Amman (Vol. 20, Parts 1 & 2) in search of an image from the reproduced 1500 prints can attest. After reading the editor’s (Jane S Peters) comment I agree that the word “prodigious” to describe Amman’s graphic oeuvre is modest. Fortunately for those searching for a particular print, Amman’s style is quite distinctive and his prints are easily distinguished from those by artist’s like Virgil Solis who were equally (but not quite in the same league) prodigious.

Like most of Amman’s woodcuts, this slightly worn impression reveals its popularity with publishers as not only was it used to print the many copies of “Biblia” in 1564 and later editions, I can see from the TIB notes of other catalogue raisonnés (viz. “Same as B.12.30 (374); A.181.37, Becker 1.1.37”) that it was extracted from the series of illustrations for “Biblia” and printed as an illustration in fresh publications. Regarding the republishing of prints from “Biblia” the curator of the British Museum advises consulting Hollstein for later uses of the plates (see BM no. 1895,0420.241).