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Sunday, 10 November 2019

Agostino Carracci's engraving, “Allegory of the Four Seasons”, c1590


Agostino Carracci (1557–1602)

“Allegory of the Four Seasons”, title page to “RIME DE I GELATI” (as inscribed on plate), first published in 1590 by Giovanni Rossi (fl.1581–1629) with the title “Ricreationi amorose de gli Academici Gelati di Bologna” (this publication may be viewed online or downloaded free of charge from archive.org: https://archive.org/details/ricreationiamoro00carr/page/n4), from the third edition published by the Academici Gelati di Bologna in 1615, with change to the title (“RIME DE I GELATI”) and trimming of the plate.

Genus Bononiae musei nella città offers a detailed discussion of this print and the following description:
(transl.) “shield with a forest of trees with cartouche containing the motto: NEC LUNGUM TEMPUS. It is surrounded by four figures representing the four seasons of the year. A female figure in the upper right holds a garland in her right hand, the second holds. ears in the left hand. Under two male figures, autumn embraced by a branch of vines and seasonal fruits and on the right winter leaning on a broken trunk and bare branches."

Engraving on laid paper with a small margin, an unidentified collector’s stamp at lower right and backed with a support sheet.
Size: (sheet) 13.6 x 7.2 cm; (plate) 13.1 x 6.7 cm.
Inscribed on plate: (upper tablet) “RIME DE I GELATI”; (cartouche banner) “NEC LONGVM TEMPVS”
State ii (of iii) (according to Bartsch) or iii (of iii) (according to DeGrazia Bohlin).

TIB 39 (18). 231 (143) (Diane DeGrazia Bohlin [ed.] 1980, “The Illustrated Bartsch: Italian Masters of the Sixteenth Century”, vol. 39, New York, Abaris Books, p. 271); Bohlin 165 III (Diane DeGrazia Bohlin 1979, “Prints and Related Drawings by the Carracci Family”, Washington, National Gallery of Art, p. 282).

The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers a brief description of this print:

Condition: strong and well-printed impression with small margins around the platemark and a collector’s stamp on the lower right corner. The sheet is in very good condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, significant stains or foxing) and is laid on a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper.

I am selling this remarkably fine and rare emblem engraving showing a personification of the four seasons surrounding a grove of leafless trees (gelati) for the total price of AU$398 (currently US$274.09/EUR248.05/GBP213.85 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 fascinating 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










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