Unidentified
printmaker from the circle of Gerard de Jode (aka Geeraert de Jode;
Geerart de Jode; Gerardo de Jode; Gheerde de Jode; Gheraerde de Jode; Girard de
Jode; Gerard de Jode (1516/17–1591)
“Hezekiah Stopping the Water Supply Outside Jerusalem”
(aka “Hizkia sluit de bronnen buiten Jeruzalem af”), 1585, plate 2 from the
series of four plates, “The Story of Hezakiah and Sennacherib” (aka “Geschiedenis
van Hizkia en Sanherib”), after the design by Maarten
de Vos (aka Maarten de Vos; Maerten de Vos) (1532–1603) and published
in 1585 in Antwerp by Gerard de Jode and later in 1643 (state ii) by Claes
Jansz. Visscher (aka Piscator) (1587–1652) in “Thesaurus Sacrarum
historiarum Veteris et Novi Testamenti.” This is a lifetime impression from the
first edition published by Gerard de Jode.
Engraving
on fine laid paper with a fork-tailed Gothic letter "P" surmounted by
a quatrefoil watermark (Briquet
8684/8686).
Size:
(sheet) 23.8 x 31.6 cm; (plate) 19.7 x 28.9 cm; (image borderline) 18.8 x 28.8
cm.
Lettered
in plate below the image borderline: “Hostibus obturat fontes puteosque
Esechias Ne longa ciuis obsidione prema[n]t 2 Paral. capit. 32.” ([Google transl.]
“Ezekias stops the enemies' fountains and wells, so that he does not pressurize
the people with a long siege.”)
State i
(of ii) before the addition of the plate number (“2”).
Hollstein
130 i/ii (Christiaan Schuckman comp. 1996, “Dutch and Flemish etchings,
engravings and woodcuts ca. 1450–1700: Maarten
de Vos”, vol. 44, Rotterdam, Sound and Vision Rijksprentenkabinet, pp. 37–38,
cat. no. 130).
The
Rijksmuseum offers the following description of this print: “[transl.] King
Hezekiah has the wells and irrigation canals outside Jerusalem closed so that
Sennacherib and his army will not have an abundance of water during the siege
of Jerusalem. In the background, the walls of Jerusalem are being reinforced
and provided with towers. Below the scene a reference in Latin to the Bible
text” (http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.553734).
See
also the descriptions of this print offered by the British Museum (with somewhat
startling contemporary colouring) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1968-1018-1-151;
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/651819.
Condition:
a strong and well-printed early impression from a plate showing no sign of wear.
Beyond an abraded mark on the left side, the sheet is in an excellent condition
for its considerable age with reasonably wide margins, no tears, folds or
significant stains (but there are a few minor marks).
I am
selling this strong lifetime impression of an engraving showing the thirteenth
king of Judah, King Hezekiah (aka Ezekias), on the left directing his workers
to cut off the water supply necessary for his foe, King Sennacherib of the Neo-Assyrian
Empire, to lay siege on Jerusalem, for a total cost of AU$293 (currently US$195.84/EUR177.20/GBP155.98
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 marvellous engraving exemplifying the spirit
of the period style of Mannerism—note the abundant rhythms, theatrical gestures,
distortion of figures and shallow pictorial space—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
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please let me know your thoughts, advice about inaccuracies (including typos) and additional information that you would like to add to any post.