Pieter de Jode II’s engraving,“Venus Orta Mari”, c1640, after Rubens

Pieter de Jode II (aka Pieter de Iode; Petrus iunior de Jode; Pieter de Jonge Jode) (1606–70/74)

“Venus Orta Mari” (Latin transl: Venus risen from the sea), 1630–45, engraving after Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), published by Maarten van den Enden (1605–73).

Engraving on laid paper (with watermark) trimmed along the image borderline with thread margins.

Size: (sheet) 39.5 x 51.6 cm; (image borderline) 36.8 x 51.5 cm

Lettered below the image borderline: (centre) “VENVS ORTA MARI / NOBILISSIMO ET ERVDITISSIMO IUVENI THEODORO THEODOSY KERCKRINCK SEDVLO BONARVM ARTIVM, ALTIORVMQVE STVDIORVM INVESTIGATORI HVNC VENERIS MARI ORTÆ TRIVMPHVM AB INCOMPARABILI RVBENIO / ÆVI NOSTRI APELLE INVENTVM AC VIVIS COLORIBVS EXPRESSV CVRA IMPENSLSQVE SVIS ÆRU INCISVM LVB. MER. DEDICABAT FRANCISCVS VANDEN ENDEN. / P. [restored] Paulus Rubbens pinxit […] Petrus de Iode Sculpsit […] Martinus vanden Enden excudit."

Schneevoogt 1873 123.37 (C G Voorhelm Schneevoogt,1873, “Catalogue des estampes gravées d'après P.P.Rubens”, Haarlem); Hollstein 24 (under Jode)

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Venus ascending from the Sea; seascape with the naked goddess at left, rising from the sea onto a chariot pulled by two tritons, supported by three nymphs, putti holding garlands on clouds above; after Peter Paul Rubens”

(http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3163275&partId=1&searchText=Pieter+de+Jode+venus+rubens&page=1)

The Rijksmuseum offers the following description of this print:

“Venus on a dolphin at sea, she holds up a pearl necklace. She is accompanied by sea nymphs and river gods. Above them a wreath of shells is held up by three putti. Above that the winds blow (in the form of blowing cups). In the margins a caption in Latin.”

(http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.129581)

This print features in the discussion: “Franciscus van den Enden as a Print Seller” (http://users.telenet.be/fvde/index.htm?Various2)

Condition: exceptionally rare (I have only found a copy of this print online at the BM and the Rijksmuseum), crisp, well-inked and well-printed impression with minor old restorations (especially in the text box below the image borderline visible verso) trimmed to the image borderline with collector’s annotations and stamp verso. Based on the superb quality of the impression showing no wear to the plate I believe that this is a lifetime impression, but I have no details of the various states to verify this opinion.

I am selling this important and early large engraving after Ruben’s design executed within Ruben’s lifetime with exceptional skill and sensitivity for AU$443 in total (currently US$340.01/EUR276.70/GBP241.31 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this masterwork of 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

From what I understand about Ruben’s design upon which this engraving is based, Peter C Sutton (et al. 2004) in “Drawn by the Brush: Oil Sketches by Peter Paul Rubens” advises that there is modello—a preparatory study—(see https://www.theguardian.com/culture/gallery/2011/dec/17/art-bequeathed-nation-in-pictures#img-8) “for an ivory saltcellar carved by Georg Petel” (p.243) that is currently owned by the Swedish Royal Family.

What is interesting for me in comparing this study with the engraving is how De Jode has adjusted the composition. For example, I can see that De Jode likes big hipped women more than Rubens. This fascination has led to a somewhat awkward—perhaps impossible—arm stretch for the nymph to the right of Venus to reach around Venus’ torso to lightly touch Venus’ hand, but in Ruben’s modello the arm is of believable proportions. In some way I am glad that De Jode liked women with grand child-bearing hips, as his rendering of the back of the nymph riding the conch blowing triton is amazing. His treatment of this lady’s twisting torso using subtle adjustments to contour lines is worthy of close examination. For me, the careful modelling of this back is so insightful and sensitively modelled that I can almost feel each bump and hollow.