Gallery of prints for sale

Wednesday, 16 May 2018

Andreas Luining’s engraving. “Ornamental frieze with Luna and Mythical Creatures”, 1582–89


Andreas Luining (aka Monogrammist AL; Andreas Luning) (fl.1589–1593)

“Ornamental frieze with Luna and Mythical Creatures”, 1582–89, from the series of twelve ornamental plates

Engraving on laid paper trimmed close to the image borderline and re-margined with a support sheet backing.
Size: (re-margined sheet) 21.3 x 25.8 cm; (unevenly trimmed sheet) 3.6 x 9.7 cm
Signed on plate with monogram, “A […] L”, at lower edge.

Hollstein 7; Nagler Monogrammisten I, 798, 5. With the monogram (Nagler Monogrammisten I, 798 and 821)
See another engraving from the same series at MK&G Collection Online: https://sammlungonline.mkg-hamburg.de/en/object/Rankfries/O1907.741/dc00102361

Condition: strong impression—undoubtedly a lifetime impression based on the crisp quality of the linework—with no signs of wear to the plate, trimmed near the image borderline and re-margined with a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper. The sheet is in excellent impression (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains or foxing).

I am selling this exceptionally rare ornamental border engraving executed during the High Renaissance, for the total cost of AU$176 (currently US$131.71/EUR11.70/GBP97.67) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world (but not, of course, any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries).

If you are interested in purchasing this superb print featuring a marvellous assortment of fictional animals such as winged deer and sphinx-like beasts, 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 VERY tiny print. In fact, when I compared the length of the print to my index finger I can report that it is about the same size—if my finger were to be painfully stretched a little. To my eyes the small size of the print is strangely important in the sense that its unusual size is visually arresting and invites close examination of each minuscule detail.

Regarding these details, what I find amazing about the mythological animals portrayed in the ornamental frieze is that they are shown interacting with each other. For example, the mirror images of rearing winged deer on the left and right sides of the composition seem to have bumped an urn of liquid which is now cascading down to a sedentary sphinx-like beast holding a snake entwined staff—perhaps Hermes' caduceus? This poor animal that is about to be saturated is oblivious to the pending disaster. Going further, even the goddess, Luna, at the centre of the composition is portrayed as active in the sense that she is holding two highly agitated dogs pulling against their leads.







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