Adriaen van der Cabel’s etching, “Landscape with Beggar”, 1660–1700

Adriaen van der Cabel (aka Adriaen van der Kabel) (1631–1705)

Two impressions of “Paysage avec mendiant” (Landscape with beggar), 1660–1700, plate 3 in the series, “Landscapes IV”, published by N Robert (fl.c.1650–1700) using a French privilege (presumably by Louis XIV the King of France). The BM proposes that the publisher might be “Nicolas Robert, the painter of vélins”. If this is true then the date of the print may be narrowed to between 1660 and 1685 as Nicholas Robert died in 1685.

UPPER IMPRESSION

Etching on fine laid buff coloured paper with thread margins around the platemark and backed with a support sheet

Size: (sheet) 15.7 x 25.3 cm; (image borderline) 14.9 x 24.5 cm

Lettered on plate below the image borderline: (left) "Adr. Vander Cabel jnu. et fecit. Cum priuil. Regis."; (centre) “III”; (right) "N. Rob. ex. Cum. P. R."

State ii (of ii) with the addition of the plate number “III” that differentiates the second state from the first state.

LOWER IMPRESSION

The same technical details as the upper impression with the exception that this impression is printed on white laid paper (sheet size 15.4 x 24.9 cm), trimmed slightly within the platemark with narrow margins around the image borderline

TIB 5 (4).32 (247); Hollstein 34.II (F W H Hollstein, 1949 “Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts c.1450-1700”, Amsterdam. P. 82, cat. no. 34)

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Plate 3: A beggar in central foreground, sitting against a wall leading to a square tower, a woman walking by to the right, a village in the background; from a series of six prints (5ème) showing landscapes.” (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3063784&partId=1&people=130390&peoA=130390-2-60&page=1)

Note: TIB’s title for the series, “Landscapes IV” (i.e. four landscapes) may seem to conflict with the BM’s advice that there are six landscapes in the series (see: Walter L Strauss [ed.] 1979, “The Illustrated Bartsch”, vol. 5, Abaris Books, New York, p. 239), but the inconsistency is due to repetition of two of the plates and there are indeed six plates in total in the series, “Landscapes IV”.

See also the description of this print at the Rijksmuseum:

http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.collect.90050

Condition: Both impressions are well-printed and backed with a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper. The lower impression is more richly inked than the upper one, but it is trimmed within the platemark close to the image borderline whereas the upper image retains the platemark and has thread thread margins. The upper image also has a restored lower-right corner and a pin hole at upper-left. The lower image is in near faultless condition.

I am selling EACH of these remarkably beautiful etchings from the late 17th century for AU$297 (currently US$215.84/EUR189.88/GBP170 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you wish to purchase either of these classical landscapes raked in glowing light, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

What I love about Adriaen van der Cabel’s work is not so much his choice of subject or even his compositions. Instead, what I love is the openness of his linework that allows the white of the paper to be the equivalent of light. Moreover, I love the way that he creates complexity in shadows with parallel hatched strokes over the top of superficial details. To my eyes, Van der Carel’s approach to rendering his landscapes is not so much about recreating observed patterns of light and shade, but rather about using light to give a touch of sublime grandeur to a scene— as if light is glowing from within the landscape as well as falling upon it.