Cornelis Schut's etching, “Pyramus and Thisbe”, 1618–55

Cornelis Schut (I) (1597–1655)

“Pyramus and Thisbe”, 1618–1655, published by Cornelis Schut with privilege (provider unknown).

Etching on fine laid paper trimmed with narrow margins around the platemark and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 18.5 x 23.9 cm; (plate) 18 x 23.3 cm; (image borderline) 17.1 x 23.1 cm

Inscribed on plate below the image borderline: (left) "Cornrliud Schut inuen: cum privilegio"

Hollstein Dutch 113 (F W H Hollstein 1982, “Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts ca. 1450–1700”, 26, Van Gendt & Co, Amsterdam, p. 256).

The Rijksmuseum offers the following description of this print:

(transl.) “Thisbe collapses into Pyramus' sword after she found her beloved dying at the fountain. The smeared veil that led to the misunderstanding lies behind her.”

(http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.173861)

See also the description of the print at the Metropolitan Museum of Art:

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/717091  

Condition: richly inked and well-printed early impression with narrow margins around the plate mark and in excellent condition (i.e there are no tears, holes, abrasions, significant folds, stains or foxing) and backed with a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper.

I am selling his dramatic image showing the two Babylonian lovers, Pyramus and Thisbe, at the very moment when Thisbe kills herself with Pyramus’ sword after discovering that her dead lover had earlier killed himself after falsely believing that a bear-ravaged veil belonging to Thisbe (shown behind her) was evidence that she had been killed, for AU$386 in total (currently US$279.59/EUR245.09/GBP218.66 at the time of posting 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 dramatic etching exemplifying the exuberance of the Flemish High-Baroque style, 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

Cornelis Schut’s etching, “Four naked children playing on and around a swing”, c1640

Cornelis Schut (I) (1597–1655)

“Four naked children playing on and around a swing” (descriptive title only) or “Schommelende kinderen” (Rijksmuseum title) (transl. “swinging/rocking children), c1618–1655, published by Cornelis Schut with privilege (provider unknown).

Etching on fine laid paper trimmed to the image borderline and lined with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 9.6 x 12.6 cm

Inscribed on plate below the image borderline: (left) "Corn Schut in. cum privilegio"

Hollstein 160 (F W H Hollstein 1949, “Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts c.1450–1700”, Amsterdam); Nagler 1858-79 93 (G K Nagler 1858, “Die Monogrammisten”, 5 vols., Munich)

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Four naked children, one child sitting on a swing; another one moves the swing; two children sitting on the right”

(http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1565217&partId=1&searchText=Cornelis+Schut&page=1)

The Rijksmuseum offers the following description of it:

“With a fountain, a child pushes another child on a swing. There are two more children on the floor, one of whom is asleep.”

(http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.173910)

Condition: a crisp, richly inked and well-printed impression in excellent condition (with the exception of a few small restored chips to the left edge and a few superficial flecks/handling marks), trimmed to the image borderline (slightly within the borderline on the left) and backed with a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper.

I am selling this joyful image executed in the early 1600s of putti at play, for AU$177 in total (currently US$134.68/EUR110.20/GBP96.45 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this small etching exemplifying the exuberance of the Flemish High-Baroque style, 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

Schut executed numerous etchings of plump naked children playing. In this particular print I have little doubt that the four children depicted are not representative of the antics of 17^th century neighbourhood kids. Heaven’s forbid! Instead, they are allegorical putti figures symbolically embodying the spirit of a bacchanal in the usual setting of classical architecture.

Interestingly, there is a companion piece closely related to this print: see http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.173908. In this related composition, the portrayed scene features the same children but with a shift in time to a moment later where the child presently standing on the swing has seated himself and is shown with his feet outstretched and high in the sky. In keeping with the symbolism of the children being active participants in a bacchanal, note that the child on the right in the related composition holds a handful of grapes—a key attribute of Bacchus/Dionysus.

Cornelis Schut’s etching, “Madonna with Child”, c1647

Cornelis Schut (I) (1597–1655)

“Madonna with Child” (Rijksmuseum title), c1618–1655, published by J Haest (fl. 1647) with privilege (provider unknown).

Etching on laid paper trimmed with narrow margins and re-margined on a support sheet.

Sze: (support-sheet) 30.5 x 26.4 cm; (sheet trimmed unevenly) 13 x 11cm; (plate) 12.2 x 10.2 cm

Inscribed on plate below the image borderline: (left) “Corn: Schut in. cum privilegio"; (right) “à Anvers. Chez J. Haest.”

State ii (of ii) (with the addition of the publication details at lower right)

Hollstein Dutch 48-2 (2)

Ref: Gertrude Wilmers 1996, “Cornelis Schut (1597-1655): A Flemish Painter of the High Baroque”, Brepols, Turnhout.

Ann Diels 2009, “The shadow of Rubens: Print publishing in 17th-century Antwerp: Prints by the history painters Abraham van Diepenbeeck, Cornelis Schut and Erasmus Quellinus II”, pp. 88–104, 134–137, 207–240.

The Rijksmuseum offers the following description of this print:

“Maria leans her left arm on a balustrade and carries the Christ Child high on her right arm. The Christ Child makes a blessing gesture.”

(http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.173739)

Condition: a crisp, richly inked and excellent impression with a minor printer’s mark/smudge above the Virgin’s head, otherwise in near perfect condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, stains, foxing or significant signs of use) with small margins and laid upon an archival support sheet.

I am selling this graphically strong image of the Virgin and Child by one of the highly influential old masters after the death of Rubens in1640 for AU$189 (currently US$147.56/EUR120.38/GBP105.36 at the time of posting this listing). Postage for this print is extra and will be the actual/true cost.

If you are interested in purchasing this vibrant etching almost glowing with spiritual life, 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

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when looking into the background of artists who craft potent devotional images like this one, after all history is studded with rebels like the great Caravaggio, but I must say that I wasn’t expecting to see that Cornelis Schut was a murderer. Ah well … everyone has their personal proclivities! No doubt Schut’s choice to execute MANY etchings of the Virgin and Child and similar spiritually transcendent scenes helped soothe his soul. Moreover, with regard to the theopathetic aspect of Schut’s choice of subject, Ann Diels (2009) makes the point in “The Shadow of Rubens: Print Publishing in 17^th-century Antwerp”, that Schut’s interest in famously showcasing St Nicholas of Myra—a saint who intercedes for prisoners—“was certainly not arbitrary” (p. 89).

From what I have been able to find out about the publication of Schut’s prints, the majority of them were published by the artist with privilege (but the source of this privilege seems to be unclear). This is one of the very few original prints by Schut that is lettered with publication details: “à Anvers. Chez.” which in translation means, “in Antwerp at J. Haest” —J Haest was a Belgian publisher active around 1647. Having these publication details also helps with the attribution of a date for this print so that it may be narrowed from the broad time window of 1618 to 1655 proposed by the Rijksmuseum to sometime around 1647.