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 

Franz von Stadler, “Madonna and Child”, c. 1790, after Titian

Franz von Stadler (active 1790–1829)

“Madonna and Child”, circa 1790

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching with engraving on heavy wove paper with wide margins around the image borderline, professionally backed with a support sheet. The composition is based on a design by Titian (also known as Tiziano Vecellio) (c.1488/90–1576) and was published in a later printing by one of the most prominent German publishing houses of the nineteenth century, the Bibliographisches Institut (founded by Joseph Meyer in 1826).

The etching bears the inscription, “Propietá del Instituto Bibliografico” at the lower centre, indicating copyright protection and distribution rights held by the publisher. The Italian lettering confirms that the series was specifically tailored for export into the Italian market.

The impression is richly inked, crisp, and near faultless, showcasing the exceptional tonal range characteristic of the Bibliographisches Institut’s high-quality printing. The sheet has been trimmed within the platemark but remains well outside the image borders. Aside from light, natural speckling—an integral feature of the period paper due to its even distribution—the sheet is in excellent condition, completely free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, or stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 44.9 x 56.2 cm
• Image borderline: 37.4 x 51.7 cm

In-Plate Lettering (below the image borderline):

• Left: “Tiziano dipinse.”
• Centre: “Propietá del Instituto Bibliografico.”
• Right: “Franz von Stadler incise.”

References:

• Thieme-Becker, Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler, Leipzig (for biographical details on Franz von Stadler and his years at the Dresden Academy).
• Nagler, GK, “Neues allgemeines Künstler-Lexicon”, München (documenting early 19th-century German copper and steel engravings after Old Masters).
• Bibliographisches Institut Archive, Hildburghausen/Leipzig (for nineteenth-century legal publishing inscriptions and international distribution stamps marked “Propietá del Instituto”).

Price & Shipping:

AU$262 (approximately US$180.63 / €158.41 / £135.65), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

To acquire this large and remarkably fine nineteenth-century etching (with engraving)—please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. Secure payment is handled via PayPal invoice for a smooth, protected transaction.

Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, “St. Jerome in the Desert”, 1791, after Titian

Baron Dominique Vivant Denon (aka Vivant De Non; Vivant Denon) (1747–1825)

“St. Jerome in the Desert” (TIB title) (aka “Saint Jérôme dans le Desert”; “Landscape with the Penitent Jerome and Three Resting Lions”), 1791, after Titian (aka Tiziano Vecellio) (1489/90–1576), published as plate 17 in a series of prints illustrating the collection of Baron Dominique Vivant Denon (“Tiré du Cabinet de Mr Denon”).

Etching with drypoint printed in a warm black ink on heavy wove paper with wide margins.

Size: (sheet) 51 x 73cm; (plate) 40.6 x 55.6cm; (image borderline) 38 x 53.5cm.

Inscribed in plate: (upper right) “17.”; (lower right) “Denon [with the artist’s monogram]”.

TIB 12101.303 (Petra ten-Doesschate Chu 1985, “The Illustrated Bartsch: Dominique Vivant Denon: French Masters of the Nineteenth Century”, Vol. 121 [Part 1], New York, Abaris Books, p. 243, cat. no. [12101].303).

Condition: a richly inked and well-printed (near faultless) impression with generously wide margins. Beyond minor fractures/tears to the outer edge of the margins, the sheet is in an excellent condition with no significant stains.

I am selling this very beautiful, huge and marvellously rich impression for the total cost of AU$304 (currently US$196.78/ EUR186.43/ GBP155.12 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$304) as this is my currency.

If you are interested in this bold interpretation of Titian’s composition, 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 van Dalen II’s engraving, “Joannes Bocatius”, c.1655, after Titian

Cornelis van Dalen II (1638–1664)

“Joannes Bocatius”—aka Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375), the famous Florentine poet and author of “The Decameron” (see BM’s biographical details); alternatively the portrait may show the Napolitan poet, Jacopo Sannazaro (1458–1530)—c.1655, after Titian’s (aka Tiziano Vecellio) (1489/90–1576) painting in the Royal Collection at Hampton Court (inv. no. 68), from the series of 34 plates commissioned in 1655, “Variarum imaginum a celeberrimis artificibus pictarum Caelaturae” (Engravings of various images painted by famous artists) (aka “Cabinet Reynst”), reproducing the collection of the brothers, Gerard and Jan Reynst and published in England by Abraham Blooteling (aka Abraham Blootelingh: Abraham Blotelingh) (1640–1690).

Engraving on laid paper trimmed with a narrow margin around the image borderline and text lines, backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 37.8 x 28.6 cm; (image borderline) 35.1 x 28.1 cm.

Lettered in plate below the image borderline: (centre) “JOANNES BOCATIUS/ Tizian Pinxit […] C [V] DalenJunior Sculp. […] A. Blooteling Excudit.”

State iii (of iii) with the addition of lettering.

Hollstein 110 (F.W.H. Hollstein 1951, “Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts ca. 1450–1700: Cornelisz. – Dou”, Amsterdam, Menno Hertzberger, p. 107, cat. no. 110-3).

Condition: a strong and well-printed (superb!) impression trimmed with narrow margins around the image borderline and lines of text. Beyond minor restorations along the upper edge, the sheet is in a very good condition for its size and considerable age with no tears, holes, folds or significant stains and is laid onto a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper.

I am selling this large and spectacularly fine engraving, for AU$328 (currently US$219.24/EUR198.36/GBP174.62 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 magnificent portrait (after Titian) of (arguably) Giovanni Boccaccio, the author of one of the classic (if rather licentious) Italian stories, “The Decameron” (c.1348–53)—described by Wikipedia as “100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men …[as they sheltered] in a secluded villa just outside Florence in order to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Decameron)—, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.