Willem de Haen, “Famine Among the People of Leiden, 1574”, c.1613

Willem de Haen (fl.1612–1625)

“Famine Among the People of Leiden, 1574” (aka “Hongersnood Onder de Leidenaren, 1574”; “Fames”), c.1613 (1612–14), from the series, “Leiden During the Siege and Relief, 1574” (aka “Leiden Tijdens Het Beleg en Ontzet, 1574”), published in Leiden in 1614 as an illustration facing page 400 to Jan Janszn. Orlers’ (1570–1646) “Beschrijvinge der stad Leyden” (Description of the city of Leiden). Archive.org offers a view of this engraving in the context of its publication: https://archive.org/details/gri_33125008259638/page/n439/mode/2up).

Engraving on laid paper, trimmed around the image borderline and backed on a support sheet with flatten centrefold.

Size: (sheet) 16.8 x 27.3 cm.

Hollstein Dutch 22–26

The Rijksmuseum offers the following description of this print: (transl.) “Famine among the Leideners, during the siege of Leiden, 1574. Interior with a group of Leiden men and women suffering from hunger, dying of exhaustion and starvation and fighting over the scarce food. In a sculpted frame with herms on either side” (http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.445925).

Condition: a strong and well-printed lifetime/early impression (based on the outstanding quality of line showing no sign of wear to the printing plate) in a near pristine condition with no tears, holes, abrasions or significant stains and laid onto a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper providing wide margins.

I am selling this magnificent engraving that is a tableaux representing the state of starvation, hunger and misery arising from famine (“Fames”)—note the dismembered leg of a horse at the lower right corner, a dog about to be torn apart at right of centre and children eating the brain of a cow’s head in the foreground— for the total cost of AU$319 (currently US$214.76/EUR196.22/GBP164.25 at the time of posting 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$319) as this is my currency.

If you are interested in purchasing this remarkably fine impression of a grim scene of starvation during the siege of Leiden in 1574—forty years before this engraving was published in Leiden—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