Valentin Lefebre, “Youth and Old Age”, 1682, after Veronese (2nd copy)

Valentin Lefebre (also known as Valentin Le Fevre, Valentin Le Febre, Valentin Lefebure, Valentin Lefebvre) (1637–1677)

“Youth and Old Age” (Gioventù e Vecchiaia), 1682

Provenance & Iconography Note:

While some prominent institutional collections (such as the National Gallery of Victoria) catalogue this print under the literal description of “Saint Peter” due to the figure on the right holding keys, it is historically and allegorically the personification of “Youth and Old Age.” It reproduces a famous ceiling composition by Paolo Veronese located in the Sala del Consiglio dei Dieci (Hall of the Council of Ten) in the Doge's Palace, Venice.

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on fine laid paper with wide margins.

This etching is part of a series of fifty-three plates titled “Opera Selectiora” (Selected Works), reproducing paintings by Titian (also known as Vecellio Tiziano) (1489/90–1576) and Paolo Veronese (also known as Paolo Caliari) (1528–1588).

This impression features the lower right plate inscription of the original Venice publisher, Jacobus van Campen (active 1682). This confirms the sheet is from the highly sought-after initial editions of 1682 or 1684, prior to the late 18th-century editions (1786/1789) where the publisher Teodoro Viero acquired the plates and added his own address.

The impression is strong and crisp. The sheet is in near-pristine condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, or stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 39.9 x 24.4 cm
• Platemark: 29.8 x 14.9 cm
• Image borderline: 29.2 x 14.3 cm

Plate Lettering (below the image):

• Left: “V. lefebre del. et sculp.”
• Centre: “PAVLVS CALIARŸ, VERONENSIS. IN. &. PINX.”
• Right: “J. Van Campen. F. Venetÿs.”

References:

• Hollstein 1–53 (F.W.H. Hollstein, “Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts ca. 1450–1700: L'ADMIRAL–LUCAS VAN LEYDEN,” vol. 10, 1954, Amsterdam, Menno Hertzberger, p. 46, cat. nos. 1–53)
• Villot 43 (Frédéric Villot, “Le cabinet de l'amateur et de l'antiquaire: revue des tableaux, et des estampes anciennes, des objets d'art, d'antiquité et de curiosité”, Vol. 3, 1844, pp. 169–197)
• Ruggeri I.43 (Ugo Ruggeri, “Valentin Lefèvre dipinti, disegni, incisioni”, 2001, Manerba, Merigo Art Books,)
• Rijksmuseum: Object Number RP-PHH-1184 (Catalogued as Jeugd and Ouderdom)— https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200218709
• National Gallery of Victoria (NGV): Accession Number 919.83-4 (Catalogued as Saint Peter)— https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/39624/

Price & Shipping:

AU$266 (approximately US$186.65 / €162.16 / £139.00—subject to daily currency fluctuations) including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this exceptional allegorical work, please contact me directly at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I will gladly provide a secure PayPal invoice for a smooth, fully protected transaction.

Collector's Note: Notice how the tight, pictorial cropping of the figures within the oval frame creates a fascinating “keyhole” effect. It beautifully separates our immediate viewer's space from the loftier, timeless world of the allegorical figures.

This print has been sold 

Valentin Lefebre, “Saint Matthew and the Angel” (etching & counterproof), 1682, after Veronese

Valentin Lefebre (also known as Valentin Le Fevre, Valentin Le Febre, Valentin Lefebure, Valentin Lefèvre) (1637–1677)
“Saint Matthew and the Angel” (also known as “San Matteo e l'Angelo”]), etching and counterproof impressions, 1682

While some sources suggest that the subject and title of this print is “Tobias and the Angel,” the British Museum and the Rijksmuseum identify the central figure as Saint Matthew.

Technical Details & Condition:
An etching and a counterproof impression (taken from the etching) printed on separate sheets of laid paper. The etching is a strong impression, trimmed with approximately 3mm margins around the platemark, and mounted on a blue support sheet. It shows minor age toning, but is otherwise free of tears, holes, folds, or significant stains. The counterproof is a pale impression—being a direct impression taken from the freshly printed etching, resulting in a reversed image—with small margins on the sides and larger margins at the top and bottom. It has two binding holes in the right margin, a minor stain on Saint Matthew, and a small tear in the lower margin; otherwise, the sheet remains in good condition with no other significant issues.

This etching is part of a series of fifty-three plates titled “Opera Selectiora” (Selected Works), reproducing paintings by Titian (also known as Vecellio Tiziano) (1489/90–1576) and Paolo Veronese (also known as Paolo Caliari) 1(528–1588). It was published in Venice by Jacobus van Campen (fl.1682) and is based on a ceiling painting by Veronese in the Doge’s Palace. Both impressions offered here are from the initial editions of 1682 or 1684, prior to the later 18th-century editions where Teodoro Viero added his address to the plate.

These closely connected prints are exceedingly rare. Despite their rarity, the British Museum holds several examples of Lefebre’s counterproofs; for example, https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1950-0211-173.

Dimensions:
• Sheet (Etching): 24.3 x 22.8 cm
• Sheet (Counterproof): 34 x 24.2 cm
• Platemark: 23.5 x 22.1 cm
• Image borderline: 22.7 x 21.5 cm

Plate Lettering (below the image border):
• Left: “V. lefebre del et sculp.”
• Centre: “P. Caliary Ver.P”
• Right: “J. Van Campen Formis Venetÿs.”

References:
• Hollstein 1–53 (F.W.H. Hollstein, “Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts ca. 1450–1700: L'ADMIRAL–LUCAS VAN LEYDEN,” vol. 10, 1953, Amsterdam, Menno Hertzberger, pp. 46–48, cat. nos. 1–53)
• Villot 35
• Ruggeri I.35
• British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1954-0211-6-19
• Rijksmuseum: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200218687

Price & Shipping:
AU$334 (approximately US$236.13 / €199.41 / £174.17) for the pair of prints, including worldwide express shipping. Please note: Import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this exceptionally rare pair of prints—comprising the original etching and the counterproof taken directly from the freshly printed plate—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a smooth and safe transaction.

This print has been sold 

Valentin Lefebre’s etching, “Arithmetic and Geometry”, 1682, after Paolo Veronese

Valentin Lefebre (aka Valentin Le Fevre; Valentin Le Febre; Valentin Lefebure; Valentin Lefèvre) (1637–1677)

“Arithmetic and Geometry” (aka “Rekenkunde en Geometrie”; “Allégorie de l’Arithmétique et de la Géométrie”), 1682, plate 14 from the series of fifty-three plates, “Opera Selectiora” (aka “Opera selectiora quae Titianus Vecellius Cadubriensis et Paulus Calliari Veronensis inventarunt ac pinxerunt”), after a painting by Paolo Veronese (aka Paolo Caliari) (1528–1588) on the ceiling of the Salone of the Marciana Library in Venice, published by Jacobus van Campen (fl.1682) in Venice.

Note that Johann Gottfried Seuter (aka Gottifredo Saiter; Johann Gottfried Saiter) (1717–1809) made a copy in reverse direction to Lefebre’s etching in c1749; see https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1936-1007-23.

Etching on laid paper (with watermark) trimmed around the image borderline with a thread margin.

Size: (sheet) 31.8 x 29.1 cm.

Lettered in plate below the image borderline: (left) V. lefebre del. et sculp.”; (centre) “PAVLVS CALIARY, VERONENSIS, INVENT, & PINXIT,”; (right) “J, Van Campen, Formis. Venetÿs.”

Lifetime impression; state i (of ii) before the addition of the address of the later publisher (Teodoro Viero).

Ruggeri I.48 (Ugo Ruggeri 2001, “Valentin Lefèvre: Dipinti, Disegni, Incisioni”, Manerba, Merigo Art Books, pp. 224–25, cat. no. I.48); Hollstein Dutch 1–53 (FWH Hollstein 1953, “Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts ca. 1450–1700: L'Admiral–Lucas van Leyden”, vol. 10, Amsterdam, Menno Hertzberger, p. 46, cat. no. 1–53); Villot 48 (Frédéric Villot 1844, "Valentin Lefebre, peintre et graveur à l'eau-forte", in 'Le Cabinet de l'amateur et de l'antiquaire', vol. 3, pp. 495–96, cat. no. 48).

The British Museum offers the following description of this print: “Two female personifications of Geometry and [Arithmetic]; the one on the left is seen from behind, kneeling; the one on the right is reading a book; circular composition; after Veronese. 1682 Etching” (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1954-0211-6-42).

See also the description of this print offered by the Rijksmuseum: http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.138915.

Regarding the publication of “Opera Selectiora”, the British Museum advises: “The series was left unfinished at his [Valentin Lefebre's] early death, and finally published in 1682 by Jacques van Campen (the 1680 edition does not seem to exist). It was reprinted in 1684, and in the XVIIIc in 1749, 1763; later by Teodoro Viero who added his address to the plates (editions in 1786 and 1789)” (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG35284).

Condition: a strong and well-printed impression trimmed around the image borderline with a thread margin. The sheet is in an excellent condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, significant stains or foxing.

I am selling this very Venetian composition showing female personifications of Arithmetic and Geometry, for AU$328 (currently US$219.24/EUR198.36/GBP174.62 at the time of listing this print) 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 lifetime impression from the first edition published by Jacobus van Campen, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Note that I have listed other etchings by Valentin Lefebre that are still available at the time of this listing; see:

https://www.printsandprinciples.com/2022/05/valentin-lefebres-etching-venice.html;

 https://www.printsandprinciples.com/2021/08/valentin-lefebres-etching-landscape.html;

 https://www.printsandprinciples.com/2020/05/valentin-lefebres-etching-janus-and.html. 

This print has been sold 

Valentin Lefebre’s etching, “Venice Sitting on a Globe”, 1682, after Battista Zelotti

Valentin Lefebre (aka Valentin Le Fevre; Valentin Le Febre; Valentin Lefebure; Valentin Lefèvre) (1637–1677)

“Venice Sitting on a Globe” (aka “Venetië zittend op een globe”; “Venice Seated upon the Globe and upon a Lion”), 1682, plate 45 from the series of fifty-three plates, “Opera Selectiora” (aka “Opera selectiora quae Titianus Vecellius Cadubriensis et Paulus Calliari Veronensis inventarunt ac pinxerunt”), after Battista Zelotti (aka Giovanni Battista Zelotti; Giambattista Zelotti) (c.1526–1578) and published by Jacobus van Campen (fl.1682) in Venice.

Although the inscription on this plate (“Pavlvs Caliary, Veronensis, In, & Pin[x]”) advises that the print is after the design/invention and painting by Paolo Veronese (1528–1588), this attribution is now rejected. According to the Rijksmuseum, this print is after the mural in the Sala delle Udienze del Consiglio dei Dieci (Palazzo Ducale, Venice) by Giambattista Zelotti (see http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.138913).

Regarding the publication of “Opera Selectiora”, the British Museum advises: “The series was left unfinished at his [Valentin Lefebre's] early death, and finally published in 1682 by Jacques van Campen (the 1680 edition does not seem to exist). It was reprinted in 1684, and in the XVIIIc in 1749, 1763; later by Teodoro Viero who added his address to the plates (editions in 1786 and 1789)” (https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId=117639).

Etching on laid paper with a small margin around the platemark backed with a support sheet.

Size: (support sheet) 41.3 x 24.7 cm; (sheet) 33.3 x 16.6 cm.; (plate) 30.5 x 15.1 cm.; (inner image borderline) 27 x 14.7 cm.

Lettered on plate below the image borderline: (left) V. lefebre del. et sculp.”; (centre) “PAVLVS CALIARY, VERONENSIS, IN, & PIN[X]”; (right) “J. Van Campen. F. Venetÿs.”

State i (of ii) before the addition of the address of the later publisher (Teodoro Viero).

Ruggeri I.45 (Ugo Ruggeri 2001, “Valentin Lefèvre: Dipinti, Disegni, Incisioni”, Manerba, Merigo Art Books, p. 223, cat. no. I.45); Hollstein Dutch 1–53 (FWH Hollstein 1953, “Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts ca. 1450–1700: L'Admiral–Lucas van Leyden”, vol. 10, Amsterdam, Menno Hertzberger, p. 46, cat. no. 1–53); Villot 46 (Frédéric Villot 1844, "Valentin Lefebre, peintre et graveur à l'eau-forte", in 'Le Cabinet de l'amateur et de l'antiquaire', vol. 3, p. 194, cat. no. 46).

The British Museum offers the following description of this print: “Personification of Venice: a woman seated on a globe, a lion at her feet, raising her left hand and holding a sceptre with her right hand; in an oval; after Zelotti. 1682/ Etching” (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1891-0511-2).

See also the description of this print offered by the Rijksmuseum: http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.138913.

Note that Johann Gottfried Seuter (aka Gottifredo Saiter) (1717–1809) executed an etching after Lefefre’s etching in c1749 (see https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1936-1007-25).

Condition: a slightly silvery impression with small margins around the platemark and laid onto a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper. The sheet is in a good condition with no losses, significant stains or foxing.

I am selling this very Venetian composition showing the personification of Venice sitting on the globe (symbolic of supremacy, sovereignty and dominion) with her foot resting on the lion of St Mark (symbolic of power, pride, magnificence, nobility and courage), for AU$238 (currently US$168.87/EUR158.14/GBP134.33 at the time of listing this print) 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 early impression from the first edition published by Jacobus van Campen, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Note that I have listed a companion print by Valentin Lefebre, “Janus and Juno”, 1682, that is still available; see: https://www.printsandprinciples.com/2020/05/valentin-lefebres-etching-janus-and.html