“Virgin and Child”, mezzotint, executed by Isaac Beckett and John Smith, c1681–88

Begun by Isaac Beckett (1653–1688); completed by John Smith (1652–1743)

“Doctor Parvulorum” (as titled on the plate) (aka “Virgin and Child”), c1681–1688, published by John Smith. This may be an impression from a later edition (c1780) based on advice from the original dealer from whom I acquired the print.

Mezzotint on laid paper with full margins (as published) lined on a conservator’s support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 43 x 28.8 cm; (plate) 24.1 x 17.9 cm; (image borderline) 22.8 x 17.8 cm

Lettered on the plate below the image borderline: (centre) “Doctor Parvulorum”; (right) “J Smith exc:”

State iii (of iii) with the radiating lines of the haloes made the same lengths.

Note: the British Museum offers a description of the different states of this print with the curator’s comment; see BM no. 2010,7081.133

Wessely 1887 315 (Wessely, J E, John Smith: Verzeichniss seiner schabkunstblätter, vol. III, Hamburg, Haendcke & Lehmkuhl, 1887); Russell 1926 undescribed (Russell, Charles E, English Mezzotint Portraits and their states: Catalogue of Corrections of and Additions to Chaloner Smith's "British Mezzotinto Portraits", 2 vols, London & New York, Halton & Truscott Smith, Ltd.; Minton, Balch & Company, 1926); Chaloner Smith 1883 undescribed (Chaloner Smith, John, British Mezzotinto portraits from the introduction of the art to the early part of the present century, 4 vols, London, 1883)

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Doctor Parvulorum; the Virgin sitting looking over her shoulder to right with a smile, holding the infant Jesus on her knee, who looks towards the viewer, pointing with His left hand against her chest; with a curtain behind. Mezzotint”

(http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3326335&partId=1&searchText=John+Smith+PARVULORUM&page=1)

See also the description of this print at the National Portrait Gallery: https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw61167/Doctor-Parvulorum-Virgin-and-Child

Condition: richly inked impression in near pristine condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes abrasions, significant stains or foxing) laid upon a support sheet of washi paper.

I am selling this marvellously glowing mezzotint in superb condition for the total cost of AU$146 (currently US$112.88/EUR95.02/GBP84.28 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this beautiful example of the very demanding art of mezzotint executed by two of the most famous practitioners of the technique, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This velvety rich mezzotint was begun and largely completed by Isaac Beckett—famous for being the first commercially successful publisher of mezzotints in Britain. Beckett’s student, John Smith—arguably the foremost mezzotinter of 17^th century Britain—also worked on the printing plate and added the glowing haloes to his master’s composition. 

For those who may be unfamiliar with the very time-consuming art of the mezzotint—also called “la manière noire” (the dark manner)—the soft blending of tones seen in this print are achieved by the originally very pitted printing plate—so “pitted” that if a print were to be taken at the early preparatory stage the impression would be a flat black—having been scraped/burnished so that the lighter tones are the result of intense scrapping/burnishing away of the pitting. (See the Met for a detailed explanation of the process: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mztn/hd_mztn.htm) When this print is examined closely, the original lines of pitting can still be seen. Sadly, the technique of mezzotint does not allow much scope for adding line and if one looks through a loupe/magnifying glass at Christ’s mouth, there is evidence that Smith has added drypoint lines to give more definition to the mouth—a mission that he may have been rather unsuccessful in achieving.

Ignace Duvivier’s etching, “Landscape in Oval with Travelers by Campfire”, 1800

Ignace Duvivier (aka Ignaz Duvivier; Joseph Ignace Duvivier; Ignace Vivier; Ignace "du" Vivier; Matthäus Ignaz [Edler von] Vivier) (1758–1832)

“Landscape in Oval with Travelers by Campfire”, 1800, from the series of four oval landscape etchings, "Divers sujets de paisages dessiné et gravé par I. Viviers 1800". Note: the title page to the series is signed, titled and dated (1800).

Etching on cream wove paper.

Size: (sheet) 20.5 x 29.4 cm; (plate) 14.4 x 23.2 cm; (oval borderline) 13.9 x 19 cm

The Philadelphia Museum of Art holds this print and others in the same series; see: http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/3355.html?mulR=1175251812|5 and http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/results.html?searchTxt=&bSuggest=1&searchNameID=1925  

Condition: richly inked, crisp impression—undoubtedly a lifetime impression based on the superb quality of the printed lines—with generous margins and in very good condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions and stains, but there is faint foxing in the margins).

I am selling this very romantic image, freely drawn and using the chiaroscuro lighting harking back to the tradition of Rembrandt for the total cost of [deleted] including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this rare etching, 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

At the time that this etching was executed at the close of the 18^th century, there were the beginnings of the “battle” that was to gather force between printmakers who valued engraving and those that favoured etching. In many ways the disagreements were significant as they reflected the decline of the Art Academies by the mid-19^th century with their reverence for Raphael and engraving and the re-evaluation of Rembrandt and the merits of etching.

The reason that I mention this “battle” is because Duvivier is clearly engaged in the same debate between the practices of engraving and etching in this print. In his treatment of the sky, for instance, Duvivier employs a visual device usually reserved for engraving: using ruled horizontal lines to portray the tone of the sky with curved parallel strokes to give three-dimensional form to clouds. By contrast, the rest of the composition is largely executed using freely laid lines typifying the approach of the etcher. To my eyes, this leap between the treatment of the sky with its disciplined rigor of tightly controlled horizontal lines and the treatment of the foreground with its seemingly immediate, loosely drawn—sketchy—marks crystallises Duvivier’s dilemma.  

Marco Dente’s engraving, “Abduction of Helen”, 1510-27

Marco Dente (aka Marco da Ravenna; Marco da Ravenna) (fl.1515–1527)

(or an unidentified artist deceptively reproducing Dente’s engraving; see another close copy at the Thorvaldsens Museum with different publication details: http://www.thorvaldsensmuseum.dk/en/collections/work/E1889)

“Abduction of Helen” (aka “Kidnapping of Helena from Troy by Paris”), 1510-1527 and/or 1649, after Marcantonio Raimondi's (c1480–before 1534) engraving (see http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.34910), after the design by Raphael (aka Raffaello Santi) (1483–1520), published by Giovanni Giacomo de' Rossi (aka Jo Jacobus de Rubeis; Giovanni Jacomo de' Rossi) (1627–1691) in 1649.

Engraving on laid paper trimmed on, or within, the platemark and lined onto a support sheet.

Size: (sheet trimmed unevenly) 29.5 x 41.5 cm

Inscribed on the plate: (lower left) “G. R. formis”; (lower right) “R” (Note: Marco Dente used several monograms—“SR” and “RS”—and the “R” inscribed here may be attributed to his name, “Ravenna”.)

Bartsch 210 copy 3 (3); TIB 26 (Part 1) 210 (171)

The Rijksmuseum offers the following (transl.) description of this print:

“Two Trojans try to pull Helena van Troje into a boat, while Paris pulls her in the opposite direction. The men of Paris are defending themselves against the Greeks.” (http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.345628)

Condition: crisp impression but with numerous restorations of tears and with a replenished loss of the lower-left corner tip. The sheet has been laid upon a support sheet of washi paper.

I am selling this important engraving from the 16^th century (published in the 17^th century) for the total cost of AU$410 (currently US$315.05/EUR265.68/GBP236.18 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this historically significant print, 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

Disregarding for the moment that this print is a copy of Raimondi’s print which was in turn a copy of a drawing by Raphael and it may also be a copy of Dente’s engraving copying Raimondi, the image is an interpretation of Raphael’s design rather than a line-for-line copy.

For contemporary viewers, the distinction between a copy and an interpretative translation of another artwork may be perceived as the same: both are not original artworks. In the Renaissance, however, there was a distinction between a deceptive and an unapproved copy and an interpretative reproduction. With regard to this interpretative translation by Ramondi of Raphael’s drawing, Ramondi was very conscious of this distinction as his modus operandi ensuring that his prints were perceived as “original” was to very deliberately make prints based on drawings rather than “finished” paintings so that he had conceptual space for creative invention “by adding new settings and details” (see Innis H Shoemaker’s (1981) essay, “Marcantonio and His Sources: A Survey  of His Style and Engraving Techniques” in the Spencer Museum exh. cat. “The Engravings of Mancantonio Raimondi”, p. 3).

Charles-François Daubigny’s etching, “Le Cochon dans un Verger”, 1860

Charles-François Daubigny (aka Charles Daubigny) (1817–1878)

“Le Cochon dans un Verger” (The Pig in an Orchard), 1860

Etching and drypoint on chine collé on laid paper with full margins and blind-stamped by La Chalcographie du Louvre. Note: Melot (1981) advises that the Chalcographie edition shows the title as “Le Porc” and so this impression must be before the authorization of the Chalcographie’s edition.

Size: (sheet) 16.6 x 22.6 cm; (plate) 12.7 x 17.9 cm; (image borderline) 10.2 x 13.3 cm

Inscribed on the plate below the image borderline: (left) “Daubigny”; (centre) "un Cochon de propriètaire qui ne fera de bien qu' après sa mort" 

Melot D 96 (Michel Melot 1981, "Graphic Art of the Pre-Impressionists”, Harry N. Abrams, New York, p. 281); Delteil 96.III (Loys Delteil 1902, “Le Peintre-Graveur Illustré (XIXe et XXe siècles)”, 31 vols, Paris)

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Pig in orchard, eating. 1860? Etching and drypoint, on pale grey chine collé” (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1348565&partId=1&people=127657&peoA=127657-2-60&page=1)

Condition: richly-inked and well-printed impression with generous margins in excellent condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains or foxing).

I am selling this freely drawn etching (with drypoint) for the total cost of AU$196 (currently US$150.5/EUR127.02/GBP112.33 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this exemplary etching of Daubigny's commitment to direct observation of nature, 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

There is a strange mix of meanings projected by this print. On one hand the line of cursive text etched below the image—"un Cochon de propriètaire qui ne fera de bien qu' après sa mort"—which I understand were the words of Daubigny’s friend, the sculptor Jean-Louis Chenillion, who was watching Daubigny at work drawing the pig, raises more questions than are answered by the composition.

Google translates this text into the following bitter statement in English: “a Pig owner who will do good only after his death." This slightly unsettling and very obscure translation is moulded by Michel Melot’s (1981) in "Graphic Art of the Pre-Impressionists” to mean: “a pig of a landlord of no use except dead” (p. 280). For me, however, I am left still wondering about the significance of the portrayed pig and its relationship to its owner. Perhaps more intriguing is the relationship between the pig, its owner and their connection to Daubigny that drove him to inscribe these grim words uttered by his friend.

Beyond the curious play of meanings projected by the inscription, the treatment of the portrayed subject is equally curious. For me, Daubigny has intentionally camouflaged the portrayed landscape features in the scene with loosely laid lines so that the whole composition seems literally woven together. For me, this visual blending of sky, trees, grasses and ground with the pig and distant sheds expresses a vision of landscape that is more about the complexity of intuitive sensory responses than a “straight forward” mimetic description of what he observed.

Charles Emile Jacque’s etching, “Laveuse” [Washerwoman], 1850

Charles Émile Jacque (1813–1894)

“Laveuse” [Washerwoman], 1850, printed by Auguste Delâtre (1822–1907)

Etching on chine-collé on laid paper

Size: (sheet) 14.2 x 8.6 cm; (plate) 10.1 x 5.7 cm

Inscribed on the plate: (upper left) “ch Jaque”:  with the artist’s signature; (lower-left) “68”; (lower-right) “Paris Imp. Aug. Delatre … [although the BM describes the text following the publisher’s name [Auguste Delâtre] as illegible, the inscription is most likely to be “Rue de B 19” as the publisher’s address is rue de Bièvre, 19, circa 1850–3 at the time that this etching was executed).

State ii (of ii) I may be wrong with my attribution of this print to the second state but there is certainly a state without the publisher’s details (see BM no. 1866,0210.129). (Note that Guiffrey in his catalogue raisonné does not record this state showing the publication details.)

Guiffrey 1866 154 (an undescribed state showing the publication details); IFF 250.

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Woman doing her laundry in a wooden vat resting on a stool; with printer's address. 1850” (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3501855&partId=1&searchText=charles+jacque+laveuse&page=1 )

JJ Guiffrey (1866) in “L’Oeuvre de Ch. Jacque: Catalogue de ses Eaux-Fortes et Pointes Sèches” offers the following description of this print:

“154. Laveuse. Une paysanne, le jupon retroussé & chaussée de sabots, lave dulinge dans un baquet élevé sur une sorte de trépied à gauche. Le fond n’est pas indiqué, 1850. Signé: Ch. Jacque.” (Google Transl: “154. Washer. A peasant petticoat tucked & floor shoes, washing dulinge in high bucket on a sort of tripod left. The bottom is not shown, 1850. Signed: Jacque Ch.”

Condition: a museum quality, richly inked and crisp impression with small margins in pristine condition. The sheet is laid upon a support sheet of washi paper.

I am selling this superb print that I see as one of Jacque’s masterpieces, despite its small size and being more of a study-sketch rather than a formal composition, for AU$148 (currently US$113.70/EUR96.22/GBP85.03 at the time of posting this print) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this simple but magnificent image from the Barbizon School of artists, 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 is the second time that I have listed this small masterpiece. I simply do not understand why it hasn’t sold as to my eyes this is—or should be—one of the treasures from the Barbizon School in that it showcases the noble beauty of working folk. The reason that it is so wonderful—again, “to my eyes”—is certainly closely connected to the loose freedom/sketch quality of the linework, termed  “croquis”, which was a cherished trait in France in the latter half of the 19^th century spurred on by a fresh appreciation of the prints of Rembrandt. Beyond the supreme confidence of the drawing, there is also the way that Jacque has composed this very unpretentious subject. Note for example how the tripod balance of the stool supporting the washtub is extended to the balance of the washerwoman as the young lady leans over the tub. Note also how the interconnection of the woman and the tripod washtub creates a very simple three-dimensional form in space: a cone.

Léo Drouyn’s etching, “The Pool”, 1857

Léo Drouyn (aka François Joseph Léo Drouyn) (1816–1896)

“The Pool”, 1857, presumably printed by Auguste Delâtre (1822–1907)

Etching on wove paper with plate tone

Size: (sheet) 12.8 x 11.9 cm; (plate) 8.6 x 8.8 cm; (image borderline) 7.6 x 6.9 cm

Inscribed within the image borderline: (upper left) “Leo Drougn 1857 … [?]

Inscribed below the image borderline; (left and right) partially erased, undecipherable text

Condition: crisp and well printed impression in pristine condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, abrasions, stains, age-toning, handling marks or foxing) with small margins.

I am selling this tiny etching drawn and with infinite care by one of followers of Victor Hugo and the Romantic movement with links to the Barbizon School of artists for a total cost of AU$124 (currently US$95.06/EUR80.59/GBP71.1 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this wonderfully crafted etching that glows with light and 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

This is a very small print. Despite its diminutive size, the portrayed scene—to my eyes echoing a similar image listed earlier of cattle fording a stream by Paul Huet—has the breadth of vision of a grand landscape. Perhaps I should not be surprised by the fineness of the etching or the projected scale of this miniature gem as it is the natural outcome of the artist’s background as an architect, archaeologist, scientist, painter and engraver. Indeed, Drouyn’s background is firmly grounded on so many skills involving creative invention that I see him as a true Renaissance man who just happened to live in the 19^th century. This tagging of Drouyn as a Renaissance man is not without significance as he was also fascinated by the distant past, even as far back as the Middle Ages.

Claude Lorrain’s etching “Le port de mer a la grosse tour”, 1641

Claude Lorrain (aka Claude Gellée, Claude; Claude Le Lorrain; Claudio di Lorena) (1600–1682)

“Le port de mer a la grosse tour” [Harbour with Large Tower at the Left], 1641, related to painting on copper in the Musée du Louvre (cat. no. P9).

Etching on fine wove paper trimmed along the platemark with fragmentary image (verso) from the 1784 Paris edition of “Stirpes Novae” as is discussed by Lino Mannocci (1988) in “The Etchings of Claude Lorrain” (p. 28) and by H Diane Russell (1982) in “Claude Lorrain 1600–1682” (p. 300).

Size: (sheet) 12.9 x 19.1 cm; (image borderline) 12.6 x 16.6 cm

Numbered outside the image borderline at lower left (partially trimmed off): “9”

State vi (of vi)—based on Gustav Lorenzen’s (1956) advice, cited by Russell (1982, p. 362), that there is a sixth state datable to c1784.

Mannocci 16; Blum 16; Robert-Dumesnil 13; Knab 139; Duplessis 13; Russell 29

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Harbour with a large tower; five sailors in the foreground.”

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1346089&partId=1&searchText=lorrain+tower&page=1

Condition: rare crisp and virtually faultless impression (i.e. there are no tears, folds, holes, abrasions, stains or foxing). Nevertheless, the back of the print shows marks from where the glue from the print having been mounted in McCreedy’s 1816 folio. The fragment of the coloured engraving from “Stirpes Novae” (1784), which is a hallmark of authenticity in the late impressions taken from the original plates by McCreedy, is arguably delightfully attractive and historically significant.

I am selling this marvellously luminous original etching by Lorrain, for a total cost of AU$383 (currently US$294.75/EUR250.80/GBP221.26 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this famous print by Lorrain, 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

If I were asked what “made” Claude Lorrain’s etchings so valued by late 19^th century viewers that he developed a cult-like status akin to the esteem held for Rembrandt's etchings, I would argue that Lorrain’s prints exhibit three critically important visual devices.

Arguably the most important of these visual devices is his use of what is termed “contre-jour” (i.e. arranging the subject so that it is in front of—in the sense of partially obscuring—the sun). In this print, for instance, the arresting aspect of the scene is the fact that the viewer is looking into intense light with the almost silhouetted forms of the ships and figures set against this light creating the expression of sparkling luminosity.

Closely linked to the use of contre-jour is the visual device, “clair-obscur”, or what is also called, “chiaroscuro” (i.e. theatrical lighting involving extreme contrast of light and shade). Here, for example, Lorrain employs heighten tonal contrasts to draw attention to the action of figures in the middle foreground and to simplify the form of the tower on the left.

The third visual device is what is called “croquis” (i.e. loosely drawn/“sketchy” treatment of the portrayed subject). This suggestion of speed and intuitive response in the manner of execution of this print projects an aura of honesty to the portrayed subject.

Beyond these critically important visual devices, I also need to point out how carefully he arranged his compositions. Note, for instance, Lorrain's use of framing devices, such as the tower on the left and the “tall” ships on the right, and the way that he created spatial intervals/pictorial zones that act like stepping-stones inviting a viewer to explore the scene from foreground to distance.
For a very interesting examination of the impact of the above visual devices on late 19^th century audiences, I thoroughly recommend reading Alison McQueen’s (2003) fab book, “The Rise of the Cult of Rembrandt: Reinventing an Old Master in Nineteenth-Century France” (Amsterdam University Press).