Romeyn de Hooghe’s etching (with engraving), “Arlequin sur L Hippogryphe a la Croisade Lojoliste”, 1689

(Attrib.) Romeyn de Hooghe (aka Romeijn de Hooge; Gisling) (1645–1708)

“Arlequin sur L Hippogryphe a la Croisade Lojoliste” (Harlequin on the Jackass leading a holy crusade), 1689, a political broadside featuring (as extracted from the explanation offered by Getty Images [see https://www.gettyimages.fr/detail/photo-d%27actualit%C3%A9/arlequin-sur-lhippogryphe-a-la-croisade-lojoliste-photo-dactualit%C3%A9/464757883]):

Louis XIV, as the Harlequin with a pegged leg, is shown riding a jackass leading a holy crusade. The king wears and shares a large biretta with James II seated behind him on the ass. Both men wear armour and a shield bearing the monogram of the Society of Jesus hanging from their shared saddle. Portrayed on the left in the foreground is James II’s confessor, Father (Edward) Petre, riding a lobster and holding the infant son of James II, James Francis (aka “The Pretender”), who wears a small windmill on top of his head. On the left of the scene behind the jackass are the Ambassadors of the Holy League shown riding a snail accompanied by councillors and vicars riding on owls. Behind the jackass on the right, monks drag a cannon past a gallows, while in the distance the ship, “Sinte Reynuyt”, departs. Also in the distance on the left of the image, hordes of men with ropes are shown pulling down statues from church facades. (Note: for more detail of what is depicted in this bizarre amalgam of strange happenings, please read the description by the British Museum further below.)

Etching and engraving with letterpress text on fine laid paper with divisions in the sheet as published.

Size: (sheet) 53.5 x 39.5 cm; (image borderline) 34.3 x 39 cm.

Numbered on plate ("1" to "15") within the image borderline as keys to the legend of explanatory versesm lettered below.

Lettered in Dutch (letterpress) below the image borderline in two lines: “Arlequin sur l['] Hypogryphe a la Croisade Lojoliste./ Armée van de Heylige Lingue voor der Jesuiten Monarchy.”; in four columns below the title: “Her gapen na de wint is uyt, … Monarchÿs Koppcn opstaen.”

BM Satires 1205 (Frederic George Stephens & Mary Dorothy George 1870, “Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum”, 11 vols, London, London, British Museum Press); Hollstein 156; Muller 1863-1882 2756 (Frederik Muller 1863, “De Nederlandsche Geschiedenis in Platen. Beredeneerde Beschrijving van Nederlandsche Historieplaten”, Amsterdam).

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“A Dutch broadside satirising Louis XIV, James II and the Roman Catholic cause in Europe. At lower right, Cardinal Furstenberg (1) has fallen from the back of a tortoise into the Rhine, leaving his Cardinal's hat on the bank. Behind him, the Grand Dauphin (2) peers out of an armoured vehicle carried on the back of a frog. In the foreground to left, Father Petre sits cross-legged on a lobster (3); the lobster clutches in his claws books of civil and ecclesiastical law, and a papal tiara rests on its tail behind the rider. Father Petre, who has ass's ears, holds the infant Prince of Wales (4), a windmill resting on his head. Louis XIV (5) in armour with a wooden leg carries a banner reading (in translation), "Holy Crusade against this Pope and the Heretics" and a shield lettered with Jesuit symbols and "De Vyfde Monarchy 1688". James II (6) mounted behind him on an ass (7) and sharing the same Jesuit cap, also fully armed, carries a banner reading "Papery/Monarchy". The ambassador of the Holy League follows on a snail, his hand to his head from which smoke is issuing. The ass defecates on a group of councillors (9) who are riding owls. In the background to the right of the ass, is a procession of musicians and monks hauling cannon (10) led by a monk riding a pig and holding aloft a crucifix; they display banners referring to Jacques Clément, the assassin of Henri III, Henry Garnett and Robert Catesby both implicated in the Gunpowder Plot, and behind them is a gallows, "the grave of the Jesuits in England" (11). Beyond is cliff-edge(12) with two poles, one bearing the cap of liberty, the other a Jesuit symbol; a ship at sea (13) carries the name of St Reynuyt (patron of mismanagement) on the stern. In the background, to left, religious statues are pulled down from the front of the Savoy Chapel, beside which is shown London Bridge with heads on spikes. Numbering 1-15, engraved title in French, letterpress title in Dutch, and verses including legend, in four columns. (n.p. : [1689])”

(https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1560008&partId=1)

Condition: well-printed impression showing minor wear to the printing plate. The large sheet is in excellent condition. Nevertheless, there is darkening to the paper appropriate to its considerable age. Moreover, the sheet is constructed of separate pieces of paper as I believe that this composite sheet of intaglio and letterpress processes was originally published. The sheet is backed with a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper.

I am selling this political satire broadside showing bizarre involvement of men with animals—men riding a lobster, a snail, owls and an armed wagon carried by a frog—that I imagine would have charmed Hieronymus Bosch, for AU$450 in total (currently US$319.47/EUR284.71/GBP244.87 at the time of posting this print) 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 exceptionally rare, very large and visually arresting print incorporating etching, engraving and letterpress processes—mindful that very few full-size broadsides dealing with political satire survive from 1689—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

Jean Pierre Norblin de la Gourdaine’s etching, “The Farewell”, c1774/89

Jean Pierre Norblin de la Gourdaine (aka Jean Pierre Norblin de la Gordaine) (1745–1830)

“The Farewell” (MIA title) (aka “Man Kneeling for Grieving Woman”), 1774­–89.

Etching and drypoint on ivory wove (China) paper with small margins and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 14 x 10.4 cm; (plate) 12.9 x 9.5 cm

State ii (of ii) The British Museum holds a first state impression showing the head of Diana at the upper right in profile before it is turned towards the viewer in the second state (see: BM no. 1877,1013.734).

Hillemacher 1848 16.II (Frédéric Hillemacher 1848, “Catalogue des estampes qui composent l'oeuvre de J. P. Norblin”, Paris); LeBlanc 23

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Dark interior with man kneeling before woman in grief; on the right, statue of Diana.”

(https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1533880&partId=1&people=113103&peoA=113103-2-60&page=1)

See also the description of this print at the Minneapolis Institute of Art: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/105117/the-farewell-jean-pierre-norblin-de-la-gourdaine; and at the Rijksmuseum: http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.158672  

Condition: richly inked and well-printed, crisp impression with small margins laid onto a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper. The margin corners are lightly stained from having once been glued (verso) to an old support sheet, otherwise the sheet is in very good condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, significant stains, foxing, or signs of use).

I am selling this small jewel of an etching by one of the most important artists of the Enlightenment in Poland for AU$322 (currently US$228.60/EUR203.72/GBP175.22 at the time of posting this print) 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 small masterwork from the 1700s following in the tradition of Rembrandt's use of dramatic (chiaroscuro) lighting, 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

Antonio Tempesta's etching, “Ostrich Hunt”, c1610

Antonio Tempesta (1555?–1630)

“Ostrich Hunt”, c1610 (1600–1620 [BM]), from the series of seven plates, “Hunting Scenes V”, published by François Langlois (1588-1647) with papal privilege.

Etching on fine laid paper trimmed with a thread margin along the image borderline with loss of the lettered text below the borderline and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 17.8 x 26.4 cm; (image borderline) 17.5 x 26.2 cm.

Lifetime impression (based on the crisp quality of the line showing no sign of wear to the printing plate and still retaining fine surface scratches as may be seen in the lower left).

TIB 37(17).1138(167) (Sebastian Buffa [ed.] 1984, “The Illustrated Bartsch: Antonio Tempesta: Italian Masters of the Sixteenth Century”, vol. 17 [Part 4], New York, Abaris Books, p. 35); Bartsch 1133–1139.

The Rijksmuseum offers the following description of this print:

“Landscape with Eastern hunters and hunting dogs hunting ostriches. In the background, ostriches are hunted in a ditch.”

(http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.184643)

See also the description of this print at the British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1496860&partId=1&searchText=ostrich+hunt&page=1

For those appalled by the hunting of ostriches, I understand from reading F Hamilton Hazlehurst’s article (1984), “The Wild Beasts Pursued: The Petite Galerie of Louis XV at Versailles”, that in the 1700s this form of hunt was “extremely rare” (see “The Art Bulletin”, Vol. 66, No. 2, pp. 224–36). Hazlehurst proposes that Tempesta’s composition has clear links to Philips Galle’s earlier engraving, “Ostrich Hunt” (c1578), after the design by Jan van der Straet (aka Joannes Stradanus) (1523–1605)—print that I will list soon—but the fork-ended weapon held by the two figures on the far right of the scene is a fresh design feature by Tempesta that was later employed in Charle van Loo’s (1705–1765) painting, “Ostrich Hunt”, in the Musée de Picardie.

Condition: richly inked, strong impression trimmed along the image borderline and laid upon a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper. There is a replenished hole in the sky to the left of the centre ostrich’s head but this loss is not noticeable; otherwise the sheet is in excellent condition (i.e. there are no tears, folds, abrasions, significant stains or foxing).

I am selling this visually arresting etching executed by one of the most famous of the early Italian printmakers for the total cost of AU$215 (currently US$152.41/EUR135.73/GBP117.07 at the time of posting this remarkable print) 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 rare etching executed when Rembrandt was only a five year old boy, 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

Théophile Chauvel's etching, “Les Bords du Loing”, 1877

Théophile Chauvel (aka Théophile-Narcisse Chauvel) (1831–1909)

“Les Bords du Loing”, 1877, plate 11 from the series, “L'Eau Forte en 1877”, published in Paris by the widow of Alfred Cadart (1828–1875) in a volume of four years of “L'Eau-Forte” (c1877).

Etching and drypoint with plate tone on laid paper.

Size: (sheet) 34 x 53 cm; (plate) 15.9 x 24 cm; (image borderline) 13.5 x 22 cm.

Inscribed on plate within the image borderline: (right corner) “…[c?]h. Chauvel. dg.”

Numbered on plate above the image borderline: (right) “11”.

Lettered on plate below the image borderline: (left) “Th. Chauvel, del. et sculp.”; (centre) “LES BORDS DU LOING.”; (right) “Vve A. Cadart, Edit Imp.56 Bard Haussmann,Paris.”

IFF 46 (Département des Estampes 1930, “Inventaire du Fonds, Français: graveurs du XVIIe siècle”, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale).

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Plate 11: atmospheric landscape with cow reclining in field, line of trees to left”

(https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1351236&partId=1&searchText=Chauvel+Les+Bords+du+Loing+&page=1)

See also: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Chauvel_Les_bords_du_Loing.png;  https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/les-bords-du-loing-258116

Condition: richly inked and well-printed impression with wide margins in excellent, near pristine, condition.

I am selling this superbly luminous impression employing plate tone to subtlety enrich the sky to suggest an approaching storm and use of velvety black lines of drypoint to give depth to the shadows—note, for example, the intensely dark shadow cast on the foreground cow resting in a blaze of sunlight—for AU$175 in total (currently US$106.47/EUR94.51/GBP80.69 at the time of this listing) 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 acquiring this remarkably fine etching by one of the most famous of the French landscape etchers of the nineteenth century, 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

Jean Louis Charbonnel‘s etching, “La Baigneuse”, 1873

Jean Louis Charbonnel (1854–1885)

“La Baigneuse”, 1873, published by Richard Lesclide (1825–1892) in “Album du Journal Paris a l'Eau Forte Pour 1875, Vingt Eaux-Fortes Originales Tirées a 100 Exemplaires, Numerotées et Signées” (“Album of the Journal Paris with Eau Forte of 1875, Twenty Original Etchings in 100 Copies, Numbered and Signed”), printed by Charles Delâtre (fl.c.1872–1876), p. 265. The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers a detailed description of this publication: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/334979

Etching on fine wove paper (China) trimmed close to the image borderline and backed with a support sheet published in an edition of 100 impressions.

Size: (sheet) 13.3 x 9.2 cm; (image borderline) 12.9 x 8.8 cm.

Inscribed on plate: (upper left) L. C[o?]harbonnel pinxt […] 1873”

Condition: richly inked, crisp, near faultless impression trimmed with a narrow margin around the image borderline. The sheet is in pristine condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, foxing or blemishes), but, as the sheet is tissue thin, it has been backed onto a conservator’s support sheet.

I am selling this exceptionally sensitive etching for AU$150 in total (currently US$106.47/EUR94.51/GBP80.69 at the time of this listing) 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 acquiring this very luminous etching exemplifying the Romantic leanings and interest of the period in the pleasures of the Orient—especially the “opulent eroticism of harem” as the MET describes this fascination—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