Unidentified artist working in the style of the Pre-Raphaelites

“Angel Study”, late 19th century (?)

Chalk on reddish-brown tinted paper

Framed with a simple natural/unvarnished wood edge and an ivory/cream archival mount under a Perspex/acrylic sheet

Size: (frame) 59.5 x 49 cm; (image) 28.5 x 21 cm

Condition: the drawing appears to be in very good condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds or foxing) based on examining it in its frame only. The frame is untreated natural wood with minor signs of age.

I am selling this framed magnificent drawing by an unidentified master in the manner of the Pre-Raphaelites for AU$550 AUD (currently US$395.18/EUR355,52/GBP270.26 at the time of posting this drawing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this stunning original drawing, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This very beautiful drawing is a mystery to me and the dealer from whom I purchased it with regard to who drew it and when it was executed. The drawing is clearly by a highly skilled, technically aware and sensitive artist. At a guess the drawing exhibits some of stylistic attributes (i.e. the choice of subject, medium and colour) of the Pre-Raphaelites. I am not proposing that this drawing was made by one of this brotherhood of artists—such an attribution is as likely as finding a Rembrandt in the attic—rather, I wish suggest that the drawing is by a follower/admirer of this group and executed around the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Charles Émile Jacque (1813–94)

“Paysage—troupeau de vaches” [Landscape— Herd of cows], 1849, printed by Auguste Delâtre (1822–1907) and published by Marchant (c.1830–80), Alliance des Arts, Rue de Rivoli, 140, Paris.

Etching on chine-collé on thick wove paper

Size: (sheet) 15.9 x 20.5 cm; (plate); 7 x 9.4 cm; (image) 5.9 x 8.6 cm

Inscribed in the plate with the artist’s signature (upper right corner)

Guiffrey 1866 146 (undescribed state); IFF 222

Guiffrey offers the following description of this print: “Un troupeau de vaches sort du bois, au milieu marche le vacher précédé de son chien & portant sous le bras une botte d'herbes. Un arbre droit & maigre se découpe sur le ciel clair du fond. 1849. Signé Ch. Jacque. Premier état Eau-forte pure. Deuxième état Traits de burin dans les terrains & sur le cou des trois vaches qui sont le plus à gauche. Troi- sième état Un fond de bois entoure l'arbre qui se détachait isolé sur le ciel jusqu'à moitié de sa hauteur.” [Google Translation: “A herd of cows out of the wood, walking in the middle of the cowherd preceded her dog & carrying under his arm a bundle of herbs. A law & skinny tree is silhouetted against the clear sky. 1849. Signed Ch. Jacque. First Etching pure state. Second chisel Traits state land & on the necks of three cows that are more to the left. A third condition of woods surrounding the tree that stood isolated on the sky to half its height.”]

Based on Guiffrey’s description, I propose that this print is from the third state (of four states?). Guiffrey does not mention the inscribed publisher’s address featured in the British Museum’s copy signifying that the BM's copy is the fourth state—unless the address is erased which would make this a fifth state.

The British Museum offers the following description of this print: “Man and herd of cows walking out of a forest and going to the right; later impression of a plate executed in 1849”

Condition: richly inked and crisp impression with margins. There is are a few very faint spots otherwise in excellent condition (i.e. there are no signs of abrasion, tears or stains beyond the very faint spots which may be an integral part of the paper rather than a flaw).

I am selling this exquisite etching exemplifying the spirit of the Barbizon School of artist for AU$118 (currently US$84.78/EUR76.27/GBP57.98 at the time of posting this print) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this original Jacque etching referencing the old masters, 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

In 1848, a year before Jacque executed this etching, Jean-François Millet (1814–75) began to make his first etchings. I mention this seeming unrelated date as it was a watershed moment for both Jacque and Millet: for Millet, 1848 (Michel Melot suggests 1947) marked the beginning his explorations of etching through his appreciation (Melot suggests “imitation”) of Jacque’s prints; for Jacque the date marked a change from his former approach of rendering images with fine lines to the confident emphatic lines of his mature work. In short, 1848 signified a time when both artists were under the influence of each other in creating the powerful images—like this print—that exemplify the Barbizon movement.

Regarding this print, I can see the strong influence of Millet’s vision of the noble rural worker that underpinned Jacque’s prints after 1848. This shared vision is certainly evident in Jacque’s choice of subject for the etching—a weary farmer carrying a sheaf of wheat under his arm while leading a herd of cows from a forest into a clearing—but the shared vision is also evident in even small details like the treatment of the portrayed farmer. For example, compare the similarities between this figure and the farmer in Millet’s etching, “Le Paysan rentrant du Fumier” (1855) that I have posted previously.

Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川 広重) aka Andō Hiroshige (安藤 広重) (1797 –1858)

“Yui, Satta-mine Oya-shirazu” 由井薩多嶺親志らず (Yui: Satta Peak, [The Coast of] Oya-shirazu), number 17 from the series, “Tokaido Gojusan Tsugi Meisho Dzuye” (五十三次名所圖會) [The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido] aka Tate-e Tokaido [Vertically formatted], published by Tsutaya Kichizō (Kōeidō), 1855

Colour woodblock print on fine paper

Size: (sheet) 35.8 x 23.7 cm

Inscribed in upper-right blue cartouche: “由井 / 薩多嶺 / 親志らず” [Yui: Satta Peak, (The Coast of) Oya-shirazu]; upper-right red cartouche: “五十三次名所圖會　十七” [The Fifty-Three Stations: Illustrations of Famous Places, No. 17]; lower-left cartouche “廣重筆” [Brush by Hiroshige]; lower-left seal “改” [Seal of censorship]; marked with the publisher’s seal lower-left and dated [Year of the Cock, seventh month]. 

The British Museum offers the following description of this print: “Colour woodblock oban print. Travellers ascending long slope along costal cliff; ships in bay; Mt Fuji in distance. Inscribed, signed, sealed and marked.” (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=784767&partId=1&searchText=hiroshige+no+17&page=1)

See the full set of this series at J. Noel Chiappa’s online catalogue raisonné of Hiroshige’s prints at http://www.hiroshige.org.uk/hiroshige/tokaido_tate-e/tokaido_tate-e.htm  

Condition: a variant coloured impression (compare with the copy at the British Museum, see url above) with a central vertical crease and other weak areas reinforced (verso). There are imperfections in the printing process.

I am selling this original woodblock print by the legendary Hiroshige for a total cost of AU$240 (currently US$172.44/EUR155.13/GBP117.93 at the time of posting this print) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this rare Hiroshige featuring Mt Fuji, 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

This original impression by Hiroshige is a variant from the colours that he used in the first edition impression that may be seen at the British Museum. Most noticeable is the colour change from a yellow sky to the glowing red/pink one. Although the remainder of the colours in this print are much the same as those exhibited in the BM copy, the change in the colour of the sky makes a significant difference—at least to me—in how the image is seen. What I mean is perhaps best summed up by the old seaman adage: “Red sky at night, a sailor’s delight; red sky in the morning, a sailor’s warning.” Essentially, for me, the red sky of this impression casts a foreboding spell over the scene.

Beyond this gloomy viewpoint, Timothy Clark in “100 Views of Mount Fuji” (London, BMP, 2001) offers the following interesting insights into this print: “Oya-shirazu (literally, 'forgetting a parent') is the name used to describe a treacherous coastline beaten by waves where there is not even time for 'a child to look back for a parent, or a parent to look back for a child'. Until the construction of the Satta Pass by the Shogunate in 1655, the route of the Tokaido had been along the rocky shoreline at low tide, here seen partially covered by the sea. … this composition … [takes] us up the long slope that leads to the high pass. The figures are of the stereotypical 'stick-leg' kind (it almost looks as if they are on stilts) of Hiroshige's later years. Compensatory interest is created by the use of unusual, even unnatural colours… . The line of the right slope of Mt Fuji has been deliberately fragmented to suggest that it is glimpsed through the trees.”

Jan Both (aka Jan Dirksz Both) (1618–52)

“Mountainous Landscape with Two Mules” [Les Deux Mulets], 1645/50, from the series: “Four Vertical Italian Landscapes”

Etching on laid paper trimmed to the borderline

Size: (sheet) 26.3 x 20.3 cm.

Inscribed (upper left) “Both fe.” Bartsch 7 (5).4 (207); Hollstein 4 II/VI; Dutuit 4 II/VI

Condition: slightly grey impression trimmed to just outside the borderline but within the platemarks. The sheet is in good condition (i.e. there are no tears, stains, bumps or creases) but there is scattered light foxing that is not very noticeable and verso has remnants of previous mounting and an ink notation from a previous collector.

I am selling this original, rare and highly evocative print of mules laden with supplies on a mountainous route in the 17th century for AU$269 in total (currently US$193.28/EUR173.88/GBP132.18 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this etching of everyday life filled with light, space and atmosphere by one of the major Dutch artists of the 17th century, 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

In a another post I have discussed how Jan Both (1618–52) employed the visual device of changing the angles of his hatched lines to capture the effects of light, so with this print I’ve decided to focus on a single but important distinction between the way that Both has portrayed this scene and the way that Both would have seen it through his eyes. The essential difference is all about monocular vision (i.e. how a single-lens camera would “see” the scene—or if the artist were looking through a single eye) and binocular vision (i.e. how the scene would look like looking through a pair of eyes).

In Both’s landscape, the viewer reads his portrayed landscape through a sequence of spatial zones, most likely starting in the foreground, followed by the middle distance and finally the far distance. In each of these zones, all the featured elements are treated with the same degree of focal clarity. For example in the immediate foreground the low shrubbery is rendered with a similar degree of focal definition as the ruts and pebbles on the ground. By contrast, in the middle distance the focus is less defined but all the landscape features in this zone have the same degree of focal blurriness. In short, the way that Both has portrayed this scene is very similar to the way that a photograph records a scene: in vertical planes of focus that are parallel to the camera lens.

By comparison to this monocular type of vision, if Both were looking through his two eyes at the same scene only a point of focus would be seen—albeit a constantly changing single point of focus—and away from this point of focus the clarity of his vision would deteriorate.

Jan de Bisschop (aka Johannes Episcopius) (1628–71) after drawings by Pieter Doncker (1635–68) (see Plates 47, 49 and 50) and Adriaen Backer (1635/6–84) (see Plate 48), “Statue of Aphrodite” (aka “Venus de Medici”)

Plates 47 to 50, c. 1669–71, from the series, “Signorum Veterum Icones,” which a part of Jan de Bisschop’s first publication, “Paradigms Gravices Variorum Artificium.” These impressions are from the second edition published by Nicolas Visscher in Amsterdam

Etchings on fine laid watermarked paper. (Note: the watermark on Plate 47 shows a lion, scimitar and “Annex J.KOOL & COMP”)

Size: (all sheets) 33.9 x 24 cm; (individual platemarks) Plates 47 & 48: 23 x 8.3 cm; Plates 49 & 50: 23.3 x 7.9 cm

Inscribed (upper right) with the plate number; (lower left) the original draughtsman; (lower right) De Bisschop's monogram: ''JE f.".

Hollstein 6; Van Gelder 1985 I.128.47-50

Condition: strong impressions with generous margins (as published) and in excellent condition for their age (i.e. there are no tears, stains, bumps or creases but there is light age toning appropriate to the age of the prints).

I am selling this historically significant set of four related 17th century prints showing a sequence of views of the marble sculpture of Venus for [deleted] at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing set of etchings that is likely to excite all graphic animators and illustrators, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

These prints have been sold

Beyond the high level of technical skills exhibited by Jan de Bisschop in his four sequential etched views of the famous marble sculpture now known as the “Venus de Medici,” one process that the artist had not engaged in was to animate his images in the format of an animated gif shown above.

Although I imagine that most digitally acculturated viewers would tend to yawn at such an animation, what it showed me, however, is that Jan de Bisschop never intended his prints to fit into a flip-book format or any other such simple tool for animation. I know this because I had to morph each image so that all the views of Venus’ heads and feet were in the same line.

Kono Naotoyo Bairei (幸野楳嶺) (1844–95)

"Two Birds with Flowers and a Stream" [descriptive title only], c. 1950, published by Uchida Han (Uchida Publishing), Kyoto, with the publisher's seal and watermark "UCHIDA."

Colour woodblock

Size: (sheet) 39.8 x 26.9 cm; (plate) 34.4 x 22 cm

Condition: Superbly inked and printed impression in pristine condition. There is a setoff of ink on the far right edge.

I am selling this large woodblock print by Bairei for a total cost of  [deleted] at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this extraordinary woodblock print by Kono Bairei, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make your payment easy.

I originally purchased this large print (39.8 x 26.9 cm) by Kono Bairei because it was so superb in terms of the delicacy of the tonal gradations, the evenness of the printing and the precision of the colour registration. What I hadn't anticipated was that all the perfection inherently a part of this print would take away some of the magic that I experienced with the relative crudity of his printed books. In short, what I missed seeing were printer's faults where poor registration resulted in key-block lines animating areas of colour rather than outlining them and the serendipity of colour smudges that I value as genuine traces of an ancient printer at work.

Alphonse Legros (1837–1911)

"Un vagabond passant dans une ruelle" [Vagabond moving along a lane] formerly known as "Le voyageur surpris par l'orage (dite "La Bose") [Voyager surprised by the storm (The North Wind)], 1890–1904

Etching and drypoint with plate tone on fine cream laid paper, (sheet) 23.7 x 35.7 cm;” (plate) 15.1 l x 27.4 cm; (image) 14.1 x 26.7 cm

Inscribed with the artist's signature within the plate (lower right corner) and hand signed in pencil below the plate (lower right)

Soulier + Legros 265; Dodgson 265

Condition: well-inked superb impression with a fine layer of plate tone, pencil signed, with generous margins and in good condition (i.e. there are no tears, stains, folds, creases or foxing). There is pale toning surrounding the image from past mounting (recto).

I am selling this rare, pencil-signed print from one of the most famous French printmakers for AU$166 (currently US$119.62/EUR106.99/GBP81.31 at the time of posting this print) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this visually stunning print, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will email you a PayPal invoice to make the payment simple.

For me this was a curious image. I simply couldn't understand why the poor wayfarer was huddled under his coat. Fortunately this quandary was soon dispelled once I discovered that the original title "explained" his actions: "Voyager Surprised by the Storm (The North Wind)"—the chap was sheltering from the freezing wind!

Frederic Bloemaert (1610–69) after Abraham Bloemaert (1564-1651) from “Het Tekenboek” [Artistic drawing book]

(left image) “Plate 67: Study of a woman’s head, seen in profile” 1650–56, copy in reverse to the print in the British Museum with the same plate number (“67”) (see: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3377246&partId=1&searchText=L,83.1&page=1)

(right image) “Plate 58: Study of three figures” 1650–56, copy in reverse to the print in the British Museum with the same plate number (“58”) (see: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3377226&partId=1&people=132001&peoA=132001-2-60&page=2)

Engravings on fine laid paper with 2.5 cm chainmarks; Plate 58 has a watermark.

Size of Plate 67: (sheet) 25.8 x 19.1 cm; (plate) 20.4 x 15.2 cm; (image borderline) 20 x 14.8 cm.

Size of Plate 58: (sheet) 22.6 x 18.5 cm; (plate) 20.3 x 15.2 cm; (image borderline) 19.8 x 14.8 cm.

Both plates are inscribed in the lower-right corner with the plate number: “67” and “58”. Roethlisberger 1993; Hollstein 186–231 (Frederik Bloemaert); Hollstein 94–213 (prints after Abraham Bloemaert).

Condition: crisp and well-inked impressions. Both sheets have margins and are in good condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes or foxing). There are mounting tape stains on the edge of each margin of Plate 67.

I am selling these delicate and technically superb prints (i.e. plates 67 and 58) for AU$190 in total (currently US$136.93/EUR122.47/GBP93.07 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this pair of very fine engravings, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

These prints have been sold

These plates are from one of the most famous and earliest instructional books on drawing designed for artists: “Het Tekenboek.” Intriguingly, both prints are mirror images of the same plates (numbers “67” and “58”) held in the British Museum.

The fact that there are two versions of the same images is not exactly surprising. After all, the original plates were printed over and over again until they wore out and fresh plates needed to be engraved to continue the publication of the book.

These impressions are clearly from later plates but they are undoubtedly engraved by Frederic. The reason for this judgement lies with the exquisite use of cross-hatching displayed, especially the famous “dotted lozenge”, in rendering the tones of the figures in such a fluid way.

Interestingly, the fluidity of this tonal treatment is a hallmark of the Utrecht Mannerists, like Hendrik Goltzius and Bartholomaus Spranger, who cast a strong influence over the Bloemaerts’ workshop. Of course, my judgement may be misguided and I look forward to comments from historians with information regarding the publication of the plates for “Het Tekenboek.”

John Samuel Agar (1773–1858)

(left image) "Plate VII", 1809

(right image) "Plate XLII", 1809

Stipple engravings in sepia on thick laid paper

Size: (sheet) 55.7 x 38 cm; (plate) 27.8 x 22.5 cm

Published by T Payne and J White (presumably as part of the folio, "Specimens of Ancient Sculpture…" published by T Bensley).

Condition: crisp impressions with wide margins. "Plate VII" has three light surface marks (dirt?) towards the middle-left side within the plate mark. There is a repaired 7 cm margin tear that is 1.5 cm away from the plate mark. The paper is clean and in good condition. "Plate XLII" has minor wrinkling. The paper is clean with minor handling marks and 1 cm edge cracks on the lower and right edges.

I am selling this pair of large stipple engravings [deleted] at the time of posting these prints) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world. 

If you are interested in purchasing these remarkable renderings of antique sculptures, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

These prints have been sold

Agar's choice to use stippling (i.e. fine dots) to shade his renderings of classical sculptures may be a time consuming process but it is an approach to illustration that allows for sensitive moulding of a sculpture's features. I must point out, however, that one essential principle that Agar uses to create the visual illusion of form is his choice of lighting direction: a light cast from the top-front-left. This angle of lighting is the basis of all great classical drawings as it is the direction that Western viewers read—from left to right. Of course, if an artist were creating an illustration for Arabic/Hebrew viewers then the angle of lighting would be from the reverse side.