Prints and Principles

Most of the recent posts give details about individual prints and earlier posts discuss some of the subtle principles guiding artists in making images meaningful and memorable. For prints that are unsold, click "Items still available for sale" below. All other prints are no longer available. My contact email is oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com and my Instagram username is @printsandprinciples. I have created a separate blog to show my own work: https://printsandprinciplesjamesbrown.blogspot.com

Thursday, 30 January 2025

Crispijn de Passe I, “The Abduction of Proserpina”, 1602

Crispijn de Passe I (aka Crispin van de Passe; Crispin de Passe) (1564–1637)

“The Abduction of Proserpina” (aka “The Rape of Proserpina”; “Roof van Proserpina”), 1602, plate 5 from a series of 134 prints after Ovid's "Metamorphoses", with Latin verses by the German poet, Johannes Posthius (1537–1597), published by Crispijn de Passe I (as inscribed in the plate).

Engraving on fine laid paper trimmed along the platemark and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 8.6 x 13 cm; (image borderline) 7.5 x 12.8 cm.

Lettered in plate within the image borderline: (lower edge at left): “Ouid. Metam. 5. […] 1602.”

Lettered in plate below the image borderline: (two columns of two lines from left) “Infernas vehitur Proserpina rapta sub vmbras;/ Raptorem Cyane sed prohibere cupit.// Ille hortatus equos, penetrat vi flumina Nymphae,/ Atque suas sedes virgine laetus adit.”; (centre) Crispian van de Passe inuent. excudit.”

Franks 1338-51 (Daniel Franken & Simon Laschitzer 1975, “L'oeuvre gravé des Van de Passe”, vol. 19, Amsterdam); Hollstein Dutch 852 (Jan Verbeek & Ilja M. Veldman [comp.] 1994, “Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings, and Woodcuts 1450–1700: De Passe (continued)”, vol. 16, Amsterdam, Van Gendt & Co, cat. no. 852).

The Rijksmuseum offers the following description of this print: (transl.) “Pluto sits in his chariot and carries off Proserpina, the daughter of Ceres, to the underworld. Her friends and Minerva watch in horror from the shore. The nymph Cyane, saddened because she could not stop Pluto, cries and dissolves in the water. In the margin a four-line caption, in two columns, in Latin” (https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200384262).

Condition: a strong and well-printed (near faultless) impression trimmed along the platemark and laid onto a sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper providing wide margins. The sheet is in an excellent condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions or stains.

I am selling this small and very finely executed engraving for AU $298 in total (currently US $185.60/ EUR 178.03/ GBP 148.97 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 $298) as this is my currency.

If you are interested in acquiring this truly beautiful 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