Marcantonio Raimondi’s engraving, “The Presentation in the Temple”, 1510–15, after Albrecht Dürer

Marcantonio Raimondi (aka Marcantonio) (1470/82–1527/34)

“The Presentation in the Temple” (TIB title) (aka “Presentatie van Christus in Tempel”; “La Présentation du Christ au Temple”), 1510–1515, plate 11 from the series of twenty plates (including the title plate), “The Life of the Virgin”, after the woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer (aka Albrecht Duerer) (1471–1528) (see the description of Dürer’s woodcut offered by the Rijksmuseum: http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.33332).

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 on laid paper trimmed around the image borderline with a narrow margin.

Size: (sheet) 29.4 x 21.1 cm; (image borderline) 29.3 x 20.9 cm.

Inscribed in plate in the style of Albrecht Dürer’s monogram: (on tablet on column) “AD”; numbered in plate (lower centre) “II”.

Lifetime impression (based on the line quality showing no sign of wear to the printing plate).

TIB 27. 631 (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. 317, cat. no. 631 [406]); Bartsch XIV.406.631; Delaborde 245 (Gisèle Lambert & Mariel Oberthür 1978, Paris, p. 42, cat. no. 245).

The Rijksmuseum offers the following description of this print: (transl.) “Presentation of Christ in the Temple, Mary kneels before the priest and offers a cage of doves” (http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.34819).

Condition: a strong, near faultless, impression, trimmed with a narrow margin around the image borderline. The sheet is in a remarkably good condition for its size and age with no tears, holes, folds, significant stains or foxing.

I am selling this rare masterwork of engraving for the total cost of AU$508 (currently US$339.55/EUR307.22/GBP270.44 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