Marcantonio Raimondi’s engraving, “Adoration of the Magi”, c1510, after Durer

Marcantonio Raimondi (aka Marcantonio) (1470/1482–1527/1534)

“Adoration of the Magi” (aka “L’adoration des Rois”), c1510 (1505–1515), engraving after and in the same direction as the woodcut (1503) by Albrecht Dürer (aka Albrecht Duerer) (1471–1528) (see https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1895-0122-632), plate 10 from the series, “The Life of the Virgin”.

This print features in one of history’s pivotal points regarding copyright, as Dürer famously printed a stark warning in the colophon for the 1511 edition of his series of woodcuts, “The Life of the Virgin”: “Beware you envious thieves of the work of invention [Laboris et inguenii] of others, keep your thoughtless hands from these works of ours. We have received a privilege from the famous Emperor of Rome, Maximilian, that no one shall dare to print these works in spurious forms, not sell such prints within the boundaries of the Empire …” (see Lisa Pon 2004, “Raphael, Dürer, and Marcantonio Raimondi: Copying and the Italian Renaissance Print”, New Haven, Yale University press, p.39). Although Dürer was rightly enraged by the copying of his prints, this print was engraved and published before the colophon warning was circulated.

Engraving printed in a warm-black ink with plate tone on laid paper trimmed around the platemark with a narrow/thread margin.

Size: (sheet) 29.8 x 21 cm; (image borderline) 29.7 x 20.8 cm.

Inscribed in plate in the style of Albrecht Dürer’s monogram, “AD”, on tablet at lower-right and numbered at lower left-of-centre “I0”.

TIB 27(14). 630(406) (Konrad Oberhuber [ed.] 1978, “The Illustrated Bartsch: The Works of Marcantonio Raimondi and of his School”, Part 2, vol. 27, New York, Abaris Books, p. 316, cat. no. 630 [406])

See also the descriptions of this print offered by the British Museum and the Rijksmuseum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_H-3-171; http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.34818.   

Condition: a richly inked and near faultless impression, trimmed with a narrow margin around the platemark. The sheet is in a remarkably good condition for its size and age with no tears, holes, folds, significant stains or foxing, but there are remnants of mounting verso and pencil notations from previous collectors.

I am selling this rare masterwork of engraving for the total cost of AU$652 (currently US$453.56/EUR422.54/GBP375.35 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 this exceptionally fine engraving that is also an historical marking point in the change of copyright restrictions in 1511, 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