Francesco Rosaspina, “The Preaching of St. John the Baptist”, c1830, after Lodovico Carracci

Francesco Rosaspina (1762–1841)

“The Preaching of St. John the Baptist” (aka “La Predicazione di S. Gio[v]anni Battista”; “John the Baptist Preaching to a Crowd at the River Jordan”), c.1830, after the altarpiece painting in the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Bologna, “Sermon of the Baptist” (aka “Predica del Battista”), 1592, (see https://www.pinacotecabologna.beniculturali.it/it/content_page/item/96-predica-del-battista), by Lodovico Carracci (aka Ludovico Carracci) (1555–1619), from the series published in Bologna by the Francesco Rosaspina in 1830, “La Pinacoteca della Pontificia Accademia di Belle Arti, Bologna” (The Art Gallery of the Pontifical Academy of Fine Arts, Bologna).

The Wellcome Collection offers an online view of the prints in the series, “La Pinacoteca della Pontificia Accademia di Belle Arti, Bologna”, including a description of this print (curiously described as a drawing): https://wellcomecollection.org/search/works?partOf.title=La+Pinacoteca+della+Pontificia+Accademia+delle+Belle+Arti+in+Bologna; https://wellcomecollection.org/works/fshbzx4d).

Interestingly, the British Museum holds an etching by an unidentified printmaker (late 18^th century) showing Lodovico Carracci’s composition in the reverse direction: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_U-1-23.

Etching with engraving on wove paper with full margins as published.

Size: (sheet) 48.8 x 31.5 cm; (plate) 34.5 x 22.7 cm; (image borderline) 28.4 x 16.9 cm.

Lettered in plate below the image borderline: (left) “Lod Carracci dip”; (centre) “LA PREDICAZIONE DI S. GIOANNI BATTISTA”; (right) F. Rosaspina dis. e inc.”

Condition: a well-printed faultless impression with generously wide margins in an excellent (near pristine) condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions or significant stains.

I am selling this large and exquisitely executed etching (with engraving) translating in line and dot the colours and tones of Carracci’s exemplary Baroque painting— for AU$289 in total (currently/approximately US$193.49/ EUR177.97/ GBP152.29 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$289) as this is my currency.

If you are interested in purchasing this seldom seen print on the art market, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Giuseppe Rosaspina’s etching, “Pala dei Manzuoli,” c1830, after Francesco Francia

Giuseppe Rosaspina (1765–1836)

“Pala dei Manzuoli” (aka “The Virgin Mary and the Christ Child, with St Augustine, St George, John the Baptist, St Stephen and an Angel with a Lily”), c1830, after the intermediary drawing by Francesco Rosaspina (1762–1841), after the painting by Francesco Francia (aka Francesco di Marco di Giacomo Raibolini) (1450–1517) in the collection of the Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna. Based on similarities to Rosaspina’s etching, “Madonna and Child with Saints and Donor, after Francesco Francia” (see BM https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_2006-U-1072), this print may be (as the Curator of the British Museum advises) possibly from “La pinacoteca di Bologna riprodotta in sessanta incisioni, dal celebre professore Francesco Rosaspina e sua scola,” published in Bologne in 1830 and with a second edition published in 1854.

Etching and engraving on wove paper with wide margins.

Size: (sheet) 48.5 x 31.5 cm; (plate) 34 x 22.6 cm; (image borderline) 25.8 x 18.8 cm.

Lettered on plate below the image borderline: (left) “Franco Francia dip.”; (centre) F. Rosaspina del./ G. VERGINE CON GESÙ BAMBINO/ E LI SANTI GIO BATTA, STEFANO, AGOSTINO, GIORGIO, E UN ANGELO.”; (right) “Giuseppe Rosaspina inc.”

Condition: well-printed/faultless impression in near pristine/museum-quality condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, losses, abrasions, stains, foxing or signs of handling) with generously large margins.

I am selling this large and finely executed etching (with engraving) reproducing in line and dot the colours and tones of Francesco Francia’s painting of the same composition, for AU$289 (currently US$205.81/EUR177.76/GBP162.18 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 seldom seen print on the art market—and from my experience, a print that is difficult to locate in any of the major museum repositories … but there may be one somewhere that I failed to locate!—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

Francesco Rosaspina's etching, "Diana in Her Chariot Drawn by Hounds", 1788

Francesco Rosaspina (1762–1841)

“Diana in Her Chariot Drawn by Hounds” (aka “Il Carro di Diana”), 1788, after an unidentified drawing by Parmigianino (aka Francesco Parmigianino; Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola; Francois Mazzuoli; Francesco Mazzuoli) (1503–1540), plate 18 from the series of twenty-five unnumbered plates (including the frontispiece) after drawings by Parmigianino, “Celeberrimi Francisci Mazzola Parmensis Graphides per Ludovicum Inig Bononiae collectae editaeque Anno MDCCLXXXVIII”, published in 1788 by Cesare Massimiliano Gini (aka Cesare Massimiliano Gini; Lodovico Inig) (c1739–1821) in Bologna.

See the descriptions and plates in this publication along with catalogue references in the remarkably thorough account offered by Robin Halwas:

https://www.robinhalwas.com/018057-celleberrimi-francisci-mazzola-parmensis-graphides-per-ludovicum-inig-bononiae

See also the description of this publication offered by the Curator of the British Museum:

https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3165910&partId=1&searchText=Francesco+Rosaspina+&page=3

Regarding the fidelity of Rosaspina’s translation of drawings into prints, the British Museum offers the following biographical insights:

“Major reproductive engraver, professor of engraving at the Academy in Bologna. Made many prints after Parmigianino (q.v.) which are faithful to the originals even to the extent of replicating the historic mounts and collector's marks that many of the drawings had”.

(https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId=109421)

Soft-ground etching and aquatint (with engraving for the inscribed text) printed in sanguine coloured ink on laid paper with watermark, “G entro doppio cerchio sormontato dalla croce di Lorena” (G within a double circle surmounted by the Cross of Lorraine) with full margins.

Size: (sheet) 49.2 x 39.7 cm.; (plate) 24.5 x 32.3 cm.; (outer image borderline) 22.3 x 31.8 cm.

Inscribed on plate below the image borderline: (left) F. Mazzola inv.”; “Extat apud Io. Ant. Armanum Venetum”; (right) “F. Rosaspina fecit.”

Lifetime impression as published in 1788.

Weigel 5588; Gaeta Bertelà 804; Mussini 390; De Rubeis 37 (see full entries for these references in Robin Halwas' account cited above)

Condition: faultless, richly inked lifetime impression in pristine condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains or foxing).

I am selling this large museum-quality etching of great beauty, for the total cost of AU$598 (currently US$402.64.76/EUR364.99/GBP315.73 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 rarely seen masterpiece of etching on the market—certainly not in this near pristine condition—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