Claude Lorrain, “Le Bouvier”, 1636

Claude Lorrain (also known as Claude Gellée, Claude Le Lorrain, Claudio di Lorena) (1600–1682)

“Le Bouvier” (The Cowherd), 1636 — Printed from the original plate by McCreery in his 1816 edition of “200 Etchings”

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on fine cream wove paper, trimmed along and slightly within the plate mark, with loss of the inscription below the image at right (“Claudius in. et f. Romae 1636 138 ne ficcen”). The sheet has been professionally conserved with a washi paper support sheet.

The impression is richly inked, crisp, and evenly printed. The sheet is in excellent condition, free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, or stains.

Artistic & Technical Insights:

Lino Mannocci (1988) discusses this etching and raises several interesting points: 

“Arthur Hind (1923, p. 163, note I) erroneously linked Seymour Haden's remarks about La Danse Villageoise with this plate and suggested that ‘Claude may in places have roughened the plate with a pumice stone and scraped out the lines of light’. H. D. Russell (1982, p. 357, note 6) corrects this error and suggests that ‘some form of roulette instrument would more likely have been used’” (p. 141).

Mannocci further proposes: 

“The suggestion that ‘Claude is likely to have proceeded in the manner of modern etchers: by laying a transparent ground on the plate with a roller’ is probably correct. ‘Only the very finest lines would have been closed by this procedure, the others remaining open to the acid’” (op. cit).

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 12.7 x 19.8 cm

References:

• Blum 18; Mannocci 18; Robert-Dumesnil 8; IFF 18; Russell 27
• Rijksmuseum: Object No. RP-P-OB-5681 (https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200130489)
• British Museum: Museum No. 1868,0822.901 (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1868-0822-901)

Price & Shipping:

AU$384 (approx. US$266.46 / €232.92 / £198.53), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if applicable) are the buyer’s responsibility.

To acquire this rare etching—a superbly rich impression taken from the original plate by McCreery in 1816—this work exemplifies Claude Lorrain’s innovative approach to capturing the fleeting, ephemeral qualities of nature. To arrange purchase, please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless and protected transaction.

Claude Lorrain, “The Flight into Egypt”, 1630–33 (2nd copy)

Claude Lorrain (aka Claude Gellée; Claude Le Lorrain; Claudio di Lorena) (1600–1682)

“The Flight into Egypt” (also known as “Vlucht naar Egypte” and “La fuite en Egypte”), 1630–33, printed from the original plate by McCreery in his 1816 edition of “200 Etchings”.

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on fine cream wove paper, trimmed along and slightly within the plate mark. The sheet has been professionally conserved with a washi paper support sheet. 

The impression is richly inked, crisp, and well-printed. The sheet is in excellent condition with no significant stains; however, when held to the light, faint traces of mounting on the verso may be visible in the upper corners. 

This piece is among Lorrain’s earlier prints, displaying the “right” mixture of a novice artist’s stylistic exploration and a struggle to communicate the essence of the biblical scene—focused on the Holy Family’s escape (assisted by angels) from King Herod’s edict to kill all newly born male children. 

In my view, Lorrain’s attempt to find a cohesive expressive voice is evident in the treatment of the landscape. For example, the mimetic rendering of the treetops in the upper right shows a different mindset compared to the horizontal strokes depicting the sky and the cleaved rocks in the foreground. Notice how he transitions from the cool, formulaic treatment of the rocks to a more sensuous, cross-hatched depiction of the broken ground on the left. Even in the sky, stylistic shifts are apparent—especially in the flurry of burnished adjustments mid-space. 

Regarding the biblical narrative, the Holy Family appears somewhat “lost” in shadows rather than being the visual focal point. While this may be viewed as a shortfall, personally, it allows the composition to read as a cohesive landscape, shimmering with light and atmosphere. 

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 10.5 x 17.5 cm
• Image borderline: 10.3 x 17 cm

In-Plate Lettering:

• lower right “CLAU”

References:

• Blum 2; Mannocci 9; Robert-Dumesnil 1; IFF 2
• Rijksmuseum: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200130480
• British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_M-12-8

Please note that I previously listed a different impression of this etching (now sold): https://www.printsandprinciples.com/2019/04/claude-lorrains-etching-flight-into.html  

Price & Shipping:

AU$384 (approx. US$273.89 / €235.91 / £203.97), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if applicable) are the buyer’s responsibility.

To acquire this exceptionally rare etching by one of the most renowned early landscape artists, please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I’m happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a smooth, protected transaction.

Adrien Manglard, “The Shipwreck”, c1750

Adrien Manglard (aka Adriaen Manglard) (1695–1760)

“The Shipwreck” (aka “Seascape” [MET title]; “La Naufrage”), c1750, a lifetime impression from the second state (of four) before the addition of the plate number and the publication details for Vincenzo Billy (fl. early 1700s?). Note that this is a rare etching that is not in the collection of either the British Museum or the Rijksmuseum.

Etching on laid paper (partial watermark) with a small margin around the platemark and restoration of the upper-right corner of the margin. Verso has past collectors’ pencil inscriptions and there is a faint collector’s ink stamp (not fully legible) on the lower-left edge.

Size: (sheet) 30.2 x 44 cm; (plate) 28.3 x 42.7 cm; (image borderline) 27.5 x 42.2 cm.

Inscribed in plate below the image borderline: (left) “Manglard fecit”.

State ii (of iv) before numbering and the addition of the publisher’s address.

Robert-Dumesnil 42 (A.P.F Robert-Dumesnil 1836, “Le Peintre-Graveur Français”, vol. 2, Paris, p. 253, cat. no. 42 [ii]; [see: https://archive.org/details/bnf-bpt6k6558132k/page/n271/mode/2up]).

Robert-Dumesnil (1836) offers the following description of this print: (transl.) “Sea view during a storm. A high-sided vessel has been thrown by the waves against the reefs which occupy the middle of the bottom, and has been wrecked there. Men are busy rescuing the people who have survived this disaster. Other vessels, in the distance, seem to be struggling with effort against a similar fate. The shore, on the left, is formed by a sheer rock surmounted by a tower; and, on the right, by a site decorated with the remains of a triumphal arch” (p. 253).

Condition: a strong and well-printed impression showing no sign of wear to the printing plate with a small margin around the plate mark. Beyond restoration of the upper-right corner of the margin, the sheet is in excellent condition for its age with no holes, folds, abrasions or significant stains

I am selling this large and rare etching rich with a layering of hatched strokes capturing the turmoil of a gale as figures in the foreground try to save the stranded from a shipwreck while other ships rock wildly in the distance, for the total cost of AU$366 (currently US$240.63/EUR220.42/GBP188.58 at the time of this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries. Note that payment is in Australian dollars (AU$366) as this is my currency.

If you are interested in purchasing this tour de force seascape of pure etched line with a clear artistic nod to similar harbour and shipwreck scenes of Claude Lorrain (aka Claude Gellée) (1600-1682) (see for example: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_M-12-30), 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

Claude Lorrain’s etching, “The Four Goats”, c.1630–33

Claude Lorrain (aka Claude Gellée; Le Lorrain; Claudio di Lorena) (1600–1682)

“The Four Goats” (aka “Les Quatre Chèvres”), c.1630–33, printed from the original plate and published in 1816 by J. McCreery in the “200 Etchings” folio. Interestingly this is the left side of a larger etching, “The Goats” (aka “Les Chèvres”), which Lorrain divided into two sections with the right side titled, “The Three Goats” (aka “Les Trois Chèvres”).

Etching on fine wove paper, trimmed around the image borderline and backed with a support sheet providing wide margins.

Size: (sheet) 19.5 x 12.8 cm.

State iv (of iv) as published in the 1816 with the dark spots showing in the sky in the upper right corner. Note that there are impressions from this state where these spots and the horizontal lines in the sky are wiped clean in leaving a noticeable white area.

Mannocci 8 iv (Lino Mannocci 1988, “The Etchings of Claude Lorrain”, New Haven, Yale University Press, pp. 60–72, cat. no. 8, fourth state); Blum 5; Robert-Dumesnil 26; Russell 19 (H. Diane Russell 1982, “Claude Lorrain 1600–1682), Washington, National Gallery of Art, p. 328, cat. no. 19).

See also the description of this print offered by the British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1870-0514-408.

Regarding the plate for this etching (and the others printed by McCreery), Andrew Brink (2013) in “Ink and Light: The Influence of Claude Lorrain’s Etching on England” (McGill Queen’s University Press) offers the following insight: “The plates of Claude’s etchings disappeared without trace as mysteriously as they had first come to London” (p. 74). From my very unreliable memory, I recall being told in a chat with a “knowledgeable friend” who was told by another “knowledgeable friend” that the plates were discovered as ballast on a ship, but this information may be far from the truth.

Condition: a strong and well-printed impression, trimmed around the image borderline in an excellent condition with no losses, holes, folds or stains. The sheet is laid onto a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper providing wide margins.

I am selling this very strong impression of a freely inscribed etching by Claude Lorrain, for AU $398 in total (currently/approximately US$261.53/ EUR243.42/ GBP209.59 at the time of this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries. Note that payment is in Australian dollars (AU $398) as this is my currency.

If you are interested in purchasing this superb etching by one of the most famous of all landscape artists, 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