Antonio Tempesta, “A Horse Galloping to the Left”, 1590

 Antonio Tempesta (1555–1630)

“A Horse Galloping to the Left” (or “Een paard naar links galopperend”), 1590

Contextual Commentary:

This etching is plate 12 from the series of twenty-eight plates, “Horses of Different Lands” (“Cavalli di diversi paesi”). In this series, each plate features one or two horses in a landscape with the series preceded by a frontispiece depicting Minerva in a chariot, driven by Prudence with a Latin dedication to Virginio Orsini—the Duke of Bracciano (1572–1615). This copy has an historic ink inscription that is now slightly faded by an old hand in the same location that the plate number, “12”, was printed in the plate. There is also a hand-inscribed number “11” in brown ink on the right also located in the writing edge.

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on fine laid paper, trimmed with a thread margin around the borderline on the top and sides and slightly within the borderline on the lower edge. The sheet has been professionally backed with archival quality washi paper for structural support and to provide wide false margins for presentation purposes.

The impression is strong, crisp, and slightly silvery. The sheet has a restored upper right corner, otherwise it remains in very good condition free of holes, folds, abrasions, foxing or stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 13.9 x 16.6 cm
• Image borderline: 12.3 x 16.5 cm

In-Plate Lettering:

• Within the image borderline: (lower left) “antonio tempesti”
• Below the image: (centre in two columns of two lines of Latin) “Hic celer ante alios ualido quatit impete campos, / Ocior aut iaculo, aut uentos equante sagitta // Plerumq et uarijs maculis distinctus, anhelo / Est comites reliquos aßuetus Vincere cursu.” (Translation: “Swiftly, ahead of all the rest, he traverses the plains with powerful strides—faster than a javelin, or an arrow that rivals the winds. Marked, for the most part, by varied spots, he is accustomed to outstripping all his companions in the race.”)
• Below the image: (right) “A.T.F.” (monogram acronym for Antonio Tempesta Fecit)

References:

• TIB 36.952: Sebastian Buffa (ed.), “The Illustrated Bartsch: Italian Masters of the Sixteenth Century”, vol. 36, 1983, (New York, Abaris Books), p. 196, cat. no. 952
• British Museum, Asset Number 1613368721: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/1613368721
• Rijksmuseum, Object Number RP-PHH-396: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200263452
• Harvard Art Museums, Object Number S9.106.2: https://hvrd.art/o/236579

Price & Shipping:

AU$254 (approximately US$174.45 / €156.55 / £130.62), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

To Purchase or Enquire

For questions or a PayPal invoice, please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com.

Please note: The scan contrast has been digitally enhanced to show the print’s fine details more clearly. As a result, the digital image tones may not fully reflect the subtle tonal qualities of the physical original.

Jan Luyken, “Plague of the Locusts”, 1708

Jan Luyken (also known as Jan Luijken) (1649–1712)
“Plague of the Locusts” (or “Plaag van de Sprinkhanen”), 1708

Contextual Commentary:

This etching is plate 18 in the series of 62 plates illustrating “Icones Biblicae Veteris et N. Testamenti” (Figures of the Old and New Testament), published in 1729 in Amsterdam. It is the second state (of two) with the change of initial publisher from Pieter Mortier I to his son, Cornelis Mortier, and Cornelis’ brother-in-law, Johannes Covens I.

The Rijksmuseum describes this print (in translation): “On the outskirts of a city, people and animals flee or lash out to ward off the locusts that cover everything. The air is filled with dark clouds of locusts. The print is a depiction of the eighth plague that God brought upon Egypt” (Rijksmuseum Object Number: RP-P-OB-67.879).

Van Eeghen (1905) in the catalogue raisonné of Luyken’s print describes this print (in translation): “The Egyptians see with horror the beasts coming like a dark cloud, while the leafless trees already bear witness to the devastation.” (p. 661)

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on laid paper (“Strasburg Bend & Lily” watermark) with full margins as published in 1729.

This impression is richly inked, strong, and near faultless—an excellent early impression, evidenced by the crisp lines with no signs of wear to the printing plate. The original publication centre-fold has been professionally flattened. The sheet is in pristine condition, free of tears, holes, stains, or handling marks.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 34.2 x 54.9 cm
• Plate mark: 33.8 x 43.9 cm
• Image borderline: 32.0 x 42.8 cm

In-Plate Lettering (below the image):

• Left: “Edit. à J. Covens et C. Mortier.”
• Left of centre: “Achtste Plaag. Der Sprink-haanen. Exodus. X.v.13.”
• Right of centre: “Huitiéme Playe. Les Sauterelles. Exode. X.v.13.”
• Right: “Johannes Luyken Inv: et fecit. / 18.”

References:

•  Van Eeghen 3706: Pieter van Eeghen & Johan Philip van der Kellen, Het werk van Jan en Casper Luyken, 1905, (Amsterdam, Frederik Muller & Co.), vol. 2, p. 661, cat. no. 3706. Available via Archive.org: https://archive.org/details/hetwerkvanjanen01kellgoog/page/n283/mode/2up
• British Museum, Museum Number 1892,0411.63.19: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1892-0411-63-19
• Rijksmuseum, Object Number RP-P-OB-67.879: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200396174

Price & Shipping:

AU$288 (approximately US$198.48 / €177.29 / £147.84), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

To Purchase or Enquire

For questions or a PayPal invoice, please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com.

Please note: The scan contrast has been digitally enhanced to show the print’s fine details more clearly. As a result, the digital image tones may not fully reflect the subtle tonal qualities of the physical original.

Henri de Grandmaison, “Charge de Cuirassiers Prussiens”, 1870

Henri de Grandmaison (1834–1901)

“Charge de Cuirassiers Prussiens” (Charge of Prussian Cuirassiers), 1870

Context:

The Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) reshaped the balance of power in Europe and left a lasting mark on French visual culture. In this striking etching, Prussian cuirassiers—heavy cavalrymen recognisable by their metal breastplates and helmets—advance through an explosive, smoke-filled battlefield.

Rather than presenting a neat, triumphant charge, Henri de Grandmaison uses dense, textural linework and billowing clouds of smoke to convey the confusion and terror of modern warfare. His military background lends the scene particular immediacy: a full colonel who served in North Africa during the 1860s, de Grandmaison had firsthand experience of military life and its demands.

Published in 1872 by Alfred Cadart in “L’Illustration Nouvelle,” the print appeared soon after France’s defeat and the fall of the Second Empire. It offers a vivid glimpse of how French artists and audiences confronted the speed and violence of the conflict.

I have also previously listed another powerful etching by de Grandmaison, “They Slay, Die and Laugh,” c. 1871, which offers a further insight into the artist’s wartime experience: https://www.printsandprinciples.com/2021/05/henri-de-grandmaisons-etching-they-slay.html.

Technical Details & Condition

Etching on very thin, buff-coloured laid paper, with wide margins. This is a rare early proof impression, before the lettering for publication as plate 171 in L’Illustration Nouvelle (Paris: Cadart & Luce, 1872).

A strong, crisp, evenly printed impression. Apart from an historic pencil inscription identifying the print, the sheet is in near-pristine condition, with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, or stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 27.9 x 39.4 cm
• Image borderline: 13.8 x 21.6 cm

References:

• Beraldi (not catalogued): Henri Beraldi, “Les graveurs du 19e siècle; guide de l’amateur d’estampes modernes”, vol. 7 (Paris: L. Conquet, 1888), p. 201. Available via Archive.org: https://archive.org/details/lesgraveursdu19e07berauoft/page/200/mode/2up
• Musée d’art et d’histoire de Genève: Charge de Cuirassiers Prussiens, 1872, record ID MM-837196. https://www.mahmah.ch/collection/artistes/de-grandmaison-henri
• Hamburger Kunsthalle: Angriff der preußischen Kürassiere / Charge de Cuirassiers Prussiens, 1872, object no. 72946. https://online-sammlung.hamburger-kunsthalle.de/de/objekt/72946/angriff-der-preussischen-kuerassiere--%22charge-de-cuirassiers-prussiens.%22

Price & Shipping

AU$247 (approximately US$173.31 / €153.83 / £128.45), including worldwide express shipping. Any applicable import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

To Purchase or Enquire

For questions or a PayPal invoice, please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com.

Please note: The scan contrast has been digitally enhanced to show the print’s fine details more clearly. As a result, the digital image tones may not fully reflect the subtle tonal qualities of the physical original.