Kathe Kollwitz's etching, “At the Church Wall”, 1893

Kathe Kollwitz (1867–1945)

“At the Church Wall” (An der Kirchenmauer), 1893, from a later (c1931?) edition with engraved text of the earlier edition erased and without the Becke blind-stamp.

Etching and drypoint on cream-colored wove paper, backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 35.5 x 24.7 cm; (plate) 25.2 x 13.3 cm; (image borderline) 23.9 x 11.6 cm.

State v (b) with burnished engraved text and without stamped signature or blindstamp of Becke.

Klipstein 1955, no. 19, state v(b) (August Klipstein 1955, “Käthe Kollwitz, Verzeichnis des graphischen Werkes”, Bern, Klipstein & Co, pp. 21–22)

Klipstein (1955) offers the following insight about this print:

(transl.) “[This print is] one of the first three works that the artist exhibited in July 1893 at the ‘Free Art Exhibition’ in Berlin and which caught the attention of art critic Julius Elias” (p. 22).

See the description of this print at the National Gallery of Art:

https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.34033.html

Condition: richly inked and well-printed impression with margins in very good condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, creases, abrasions, stains or foxing), backed with a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper. There are pencil notations along the lower edge of the sheet from a previous collector.

I am selling this graphically powerful etching—a small masterpiece capturing the profound sadness and despair of a dispossessed woman outside a church—for AU$630 (currently US$448.56/EUR393.56/GBP352.55 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 remarkable etching by Kollwitz, 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

Schelte Adamsz. Bolswert's engraving, "Lamentation over the Body of Christ”, c1630

Schelte Adamsz. Bolswert (aka Scheltius À Bolswert) (c1586–1659)

“Lamentation over the Body of Christ” (aka “The Lamentation”), c1630 (BM: 1630–1645; Rijksmuseum: 1596–1659; Carl Depauw [1999] advises in “Anthony van Dyck as Printmaker” that this print was “on the market before 30 December 1643” [fn. 1, p. 266] ), after the painting by Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641) in the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten (Antwerp) (inv.no.404), first published by Maarten van den Enden (1605–1673) in Antwerp.

Engraving on laid paper trimmed with thread margins around the image borderline on the top and sides and unevenly below the text lines with loss of the publisher’s address and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 34 x 46; (image borderline) 32.2 x 45.7 cm

Lettered on plate below the image borderline: (left) "Antonius van Dyck pinxit./ S. à Bolswert Sculpsit”; (centre) "VOCATE ME MARA, QUIA AMARITUDINE VALDE REPLEVIT ME OMNIPOTENS. Ruth. 1. V. 20."

Sadly the critical information regarding the publisher (Maarten van den Enden for the first state or Gilles Hendricx or Nicolaas Lauwers for later states) has been trimmed from this impression and consequently I am unable to determine the state beyond observing that the crisp quality of the line suggests that this is an early impression before wear to the plate.

Hollstein 30 (Bolswert); New Hollstein (Dutch & Flemish) 536 (Van Dyck)

The British Museum offers the following description of this print in its first state:

“The Lamentation; the Virgin leaning against a rock with the dead Christ in her lap at left, St John and two angels inspecting the wounds in his hand at right …”

(https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3079597&partId=1&searchText=The+Lamentation+bolswert&page=1)

See also the description of this print with the address of Gilles Hendricx offered by the Rijksmuseum:

http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.346853  

Condition: richly inked, strong early impression (i.e. there is no signs of wear to the printing plate) trimmed close to the image borderline on the top and sides and unevenly on the lower edge with text lines. The sheet is slightly darkened appropriate to its age, otherwise it is in very good condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, significant stains or foxing) and backed with a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper.

I am selling this large masterpiece of early engraving translating a second variation of Van Dyck’s “The Lamentation”—compare this plate to the engraving by Lucas Vorsterman which I listed earlier on my blog (now sold)—for AU$370 (currently US$260.66/EUR228.41/GBP20.37 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 exceptionally rare and magnificent engraving, 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

(attrib.) Albrecht Dürer’s woodcut, “Wheel of Fortune”, c1494

(attrib.) Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)

“Wheel of Fortune” (aka “Of the mutabylyte of fortune”), c1494, (original impression [with Latin text verso] thought to be by Dürer before the later copies by other artists of this rare woodcut) illustration to Sebastian Brant’s (1494), “Das Narrenschiff” (The Ship of Fools), published in Basel (Switzerland) before the English edition translated by Alexander Barclay, “Shyp Of Foles Of The Worlde”, published in 1509 (see a copy of this woodcut printed in the English version at Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shyp_Of_Foles_Of_The_Worlde_36,_Of_The_Mutabylyte_Of_Fortune.jpg).

Woodcut on fine laid paper with Latin text verso, trimmed with a small margin around the image borderline and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 12.2 x 8.7 cm

Walter L Strauss (1981) in his commentary on page 516 in “The Illustrated Bartsch: Sixteenth Century German Artists: Albrecht Dürer” (vol. 10 [commentary], New York, Abaris Books), about Dürer's involvement in the illustrations to “Das Narrenschiff,” offers the following insight:

“The number of illustrations in 'The Ship of Fools' ascribed to Dürer range from ‘about a third’ by Panofsky [Erwin Panofsky 1943, 'Albrecht Dürer', vol. 1, Princeton, pp. 29–30], to 73 out of 115 (of which nine are repeats), according to Winkler [Friedrich Winkler 1951, 'Dürer und die Illustrationen zum Narrenschiff …', Berlin, pp. 30–32]. The others are given to a 'Master of the Heintz-Fool illustration' and a 'Master of the Gnadherr-Fool illustration,' based on the style of these two illustrations.”

Condition: richly inked, strong early impression (i.e. there are no signs of wear to the printing plate) with replenished losses (viz. three wormholes and a loss near the grass on the right margin). The sheet is trimmed close to the platemark and backed with a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper.

I am selling this exceptionally rare woodcut—a fine example of this print before it was copied for the English edition—showing the Wheel of Fortune (aka Rota Fortunae) with fools transmogrified as donkeys attached to the wheel as it is turned by the hand of God, for AU$420 (currently US$292.83/EUR257.25/GBP233.09 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 superb example of the 15th century notion of the Wheel of Fortune (i.e. the idea that fate evolves capriciously) and the evolution of man to a fool and ultimately to a complete ass—as shown here at the top of the wheel (mindful that the ass at the time was considered to be the epitome of stupidity)—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

Three engravings from “Het Tekenboek” by Frederik Bloemaert, c1653

Frederik Bloemaert (c1616–1690)

(Left image) “Two soldiers”, 1650–56, after Abraham Bloemaert (1564–1651), plate 11 from the series, “Het Tekenboek”, engraving and etching on fine laid paper with watermark (“Letters”), trimmed close to the platemark, (sheet) 12.9 x 8.3 cm, numbered on plate at left of lower centre, “11”, Hollstein 166.

(Centre image) “Young Farmer”, 1650–56, after Abraham Bloemaert, plate 9 from the series, “Het Tekenboek”, engraving and etching on fine laid paper with watermark (“Letters”), trimmed close to the platemark, (sheet) 12.9 x 8.3 cm, numbered on plate at lower left corner, “9”, Hollstein 164.

(Right image) “Beggar with Child”, 1650–56, after Abraham Bloemaert, plate 10 from the series, “Het Tekenboek”, engraving and etching on fine laid paper with watermark (“Foolscap”), trimmed close to the platemark, (sheet) 13.1 x 8.6 cm, numbered on plate at right of lower centre, “10”, Hollstein 165.

Ref: Marcel Roethlisberger 1993, “Abraham Bloemaert and His Sons: Paintings and Prints”, 2 vols, Doornspijk, Davaco.

Condition: crisp and well printed early impressions (based on the impressions showing no sign of wear to the printing plates) and in excellent condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, foxing or signs of use) trimmed close to the platemark and backed with a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper.

I am selling this set of three small engravings (with etching) for [deleted] 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 these beautifully executed and elegantly designed representations of everyday 17^th century folk featured as illustrations in “Het Tekenboek” (The Drawing Book) designed as model drawings for art students to copy, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This set of prints has been sold

Gustave Greux’s etching, “Rêverie”, c1875, after Albert Maignan

Gustave Marie Greux (1838–1919)

“Rêverie”, c1875, after the painting of the same composition shown in the 1875 Salon by Albert Maignan (aka Albert Pierre René Maignan) (1845–1945), published in “L’Art, revue hebdomadaire illustrée” (1875), printed by François Liénard (fl.c.1860s–1880s) in Paris.

Etching on ivory laid paper with wide margins.

Size: (sheet) 42.8 x 29.6 cm; (plate) 28.6 x 20.6 cm; (image borderline) 26.1 x 18.4 cm.

Lettered on plate above the image borderline: (centre) “Salon de 1875.”

Lettered on plate below the image borderline: (left) 'A.Maignan, pinx./ L'Art.”; (centre) “RÊVERIE.”;  (right) “G, Greux,sc./ Fçois Liénard,Imp.Paris.”

IFF 6 or 9 (Inventaire du Fonds Français: Bibliothèque Nationale, Département des Estampes, Paris, 1930)

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Daydreaming, after Maignan: a young woman sitting under a tree, neglecting the embroidery work laid on her knees; a dog lying at her feet; published in 'L'Art'”

(https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3369861&partId=1&searchText=greux&page=1)

Condition: richly inked and well-printed—virtually faultless—impression still retaining traces of the guidelines for the text line above the image (i.e. there is very little wear to the printing plate) with wide margins around the platemark (as published?) in near pristine condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, creases, abrasions, stains, foxing or signs of use).

I am selling this curiously wonderful image employing the form of a pollarded tree as an analogue/visual equivalent for the state of daydreaming that the young woman has slipped into while embroidering a long cloth, for AU$156 (currently US$110.03/EUR96.02/GBP86.20 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 scene of romantic peace that is simultaneously—to my eyes—a psychological mindscape where portrayed forms connote more than superficial appearances, 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