Thomas Landseer’s soft-ground etching, “Hand Studies of ‘Sleeping Groom’ and ‘Duncan’”, 1817, after Benjamin Robert Haydon

Thomas Landseer (1795–1880)

“Hand Studies of ‘Sleeping Groom’ and ‘Duncan’”, 1817, from a series of seven soft-ground etchings after Benjamin Robert Haydon (1786–1846), published in 1817 by Thomas Landseer in “Haydon's drawing-book”.

See this etching and another plate showing a single hand and wrist as described by the British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1866-1013-420-420-. Although I may be wrong, the subject possibly relates to Hadon’s studies for “The Murder of Duncan – Macbeth Stabbing Duncan” (see https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:28274).

This impression is undoubtedly a prepublication annotated proof as the upper inscribed title, “SLEEPING GROOMS”, has been corrected with the “S” cancelled—note that in the BM’s copy of this print shows the inscribed title as: “SLEEPING GROOM”.

Soft-ground etching (with dot roulette?) on chine collé on wove paper, trimmed with a small margin around the platemark and backed with a support sheet providing wide margins.

Size: (support sheet) 37.1 x 33.8 cm; (sheet) 21.1 x 21 cm; (plate) 19 x 19 cm; (chine collé) 18.9 x 18.8 cm.

Inscribed in plate: (left of centre) “SLEEPING GROOMS”; (lower right corner) “DUNCAN”.

Lettered in plate along the lower edge: (left) “[B.] R. Haydon. del^t.”; (centre) “Pub. May. 1. 1817 by [T.] Landseer 33 Foley Stree[t] London.”; (right) “T Landseer S”

Condition: a strong and well-printed impression, trimmed with a small margin around the platemark and laid onto a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper providing wide margins. Beyond slightly dusty/handled margins to the original sheet, the sheet is in a good condition with no tears, holes, folds or significant stains.

I am selling this simply magnificent study of hands executed as a soft-ground etching, for the total cost of AU$237 (currently US$165.31/EUR152.60/GBP135.20 at the time of this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) 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 fine annotated proof-state etching of hand studies, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Note that the earlier listing of Landseer’s superb, “Hand and Wrist of ‘Duncan’” is (amazingly) still available; see https://www.printsandprinciples.com/2022/12/thomas-landseers-soft-ground-etching.html.