Aegidius Sadeler’s etching (with engraving) after a lost drawing by Roelant Savery

Aegidius Sadeler II (also Egidius or Gilles) (1568–1629)

“Waterfall with Shepherd and Four Goats”, c.1610–13, from a series of six landscapes after drawings by Roelant Savery (1576–1639) (note that the Savery’s drawing for this print is now lost).

Etching and engraving on fine laid paper trimmed to the image borderline.

Size: (sheet) 21.1 x 28.3 cm

I am unable to determine the state of this impression (there are six states in total) as the publication details have been trimmed off. Nevertheless, the impression is richly inked and crisp showing very little, if any, wear suggesting that this is an early impression and no doubt a lifetime impression.

Bartsch 72 (1998: Part 2, Supplement) 7201.39; Nagler 1835–52, no. 228; Le Blanc, no. 204–09 ; Wurzbach, no. 106; Hollstein 1980, vol. 21, no. 231

 (see description of this print that is also trimmed to the borderline in Museum of San Francisco: http://art.famsf.org/aegidius-sadeler-ii/waterfall-shepherd-and-four-goats-set-six-landscapes-19633014031)

Condition: Crisp and strong impression of this extremely rare print in superb condition (i.e. there are no stains, holes, folds or foxing). The print is trimmed to the image borderline and on the back there are remnants of mounting hinges and a strip of reinforcing (?) paper at the top centre.

I am selling this print of the utmost rarity by Aegidius Sadeler (so rare in fact that even the British Museum does not possess a copy) for AU$534 in total (currently US$403.31/EUR360.93/GBP308.49 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this remarkably fresh early impression of an extremely rare print that is seldom (if ever) seen on the market, 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 print of exceptional rarity. It is part of a series of six landscapes of similar size that Aegidius Sadeler II executed after drawings by Roelant Savery.

From my standpoint, what makes this image particularly interesting is that it is a fine example of the notion that was current in the 16^th century—and is possibly still current—of animism (i.e. the attribution of a living soul to plants, inanimate objects, and natural phenomena). For instance, artists often featured caves, chasms, natural rock arches and similar formations were the earth exposes a secondary world below the surface terrain. Going further, artists like Savery and Sadeler, leaned towards the insignificance of man compared to God’s handiwork in creating the landscape by ensuring that staffage figures were small in comparison to the surrounding landscape. As is also the case with landscape images at this time, the notion of vanitas (i.e. all things must pass/die) pervades the scene. Note, for example, that this scene is littered with broken old trees with fresh growth surrounding them—a visual code of symbolism that most folk at the time would have understood to mean that life is a continuum and nothing is permanent.