Johannes Wierix’s engraving, “Portrait of Jan Cornelisz. Vermeyen”, 1572

Johannes Wierix (aka Jan Wierix) (1539–1620)

“Portrait of Jan Cornelisz. Vermeyen”—a Dutch painter who is also known as Jan Mayo, or Barbalonga (c1504–1559),1572, plate 15 in the series of 23 engraved plates to “Pictorum aliquot celebrium Germaniae inferioris Effigies”, initially published by Theodoor Galle (1571–1633), 1572, in Antwerp. This impression is from the 1694 edition published by D and T Browne (fl.1694) in London as illustrations to Sebastiano Resta's "The True Effigies Of The Most Eminent Painters And Other Famous Artists".

Archive.org offers an online view of this publication (“The true effigies of the most eminent painters, and other famous artists that have flourished in Europe. Curiously engraven on copper-plates. Together with an account of the time when they lived, the most remarkable passages of their lives, and most considerable works. Very useful for all such gentlemen as are lovers of art and ingenuity”); see https://archive.org/details/trueeffigiesofmo00rest/page/n62/mode/2up.

Engraving on fine laid paper trimmed with a narrow margin around the outer borderline and archivally hinged to a support sheet..

Size: (sheet) 20.5 x 11.9 cm; (outer borderline) 20 x 11.7 cm.

Lettered in plate: (upper edge) "Obijt Bruxellis 1559. ætat. 59. ad D. Gaugerici conditus./ 15."; (within the image borderline at lower right corner) "IHW"; (below the image borderline) “15 IOANNI MAIO, PICTORI./ Quos homines , quæ non Maius loca pinxit , & vrbes/ Visendum latè quicquid & Orbis habet;/ Dum terrâ sequiturque mari te, Carole Cæfar,/ Pingeret vt dextræ fortia facta tuæ;/ Quæ mox Attalicis fulgerent aurea textis,/ Materiem artifici Jed Superante manu,/  Nec minus ille suâ  Spectacula præbuit arte,/ Celso conspicuus vertice grata  tibi;/ Iussus prolixæ detecta volumina barbæ/ Ostentare suos pendula ad vsque pedes./ [lower left corner] "Th. Galle excud."

State iv (of iv)

Mauquoy-Hendrickx 1743 IV (Marie Mauquoy-Hendrickx 1978, “Les Estampes Des Wierix”, vol. 3, [text] p. 347, cat. no. 1743 IV, [ill.] p. 245); Hollstein 2027 (Wierix); Alvin 2047; Riggs 269; Van Someren 1888 5774d.

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“Plate 15: Portrait of Jan Cornelisz. Vermeyen, three-quarter length, turned to the left, head turned to face the viewer; with moustache and very long beard, seated and holding a book in his right hand while writing in it with his left hand, an exotic landscape seen behind him with a group of figures to right, a man menacing another figure with a sword; fourth state with an extra numbering of "15" before name; from the fourth edition of the series used as illustrations to Sebastiano Resta's "The True Effigies Of The Most Eminent Painters And Other Famous Artists" (D. and T. Browne: London, 1694). c.1572" (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1872-1012-4160).

Condition: a very strong and well-printed (near faultless) impression with narrow margins around the outer image borderline. The sheet is hinged to a support sheet and is in an extraordinary state of preservation for its considerable age with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, significant stains, foxing or signs of handling.

I am selling this visually riveting portrait of an artist drawing in an exotic landscape with a murder occurring beyond his left shoulder for the total cost of AU$312 (currently US$231.21/EUR199.33/GBP170.42 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 purchasing this psychologically engaging portrait from the Baroque age, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Note that this is the second impression of this print that I have listed (the previous copy has been sold).