Katsushika Hokusai, “Beauty Crossing a River”, 1878

Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎) (1760–1849)
“Beauty Crossing a River”, 1878

This adjoined pair of original Hokusai three-colour (black, pink, and blue-grey) woodblock prints was published by Katano Tōshirō (片野東四郎) and Tōhekidō (東壁堂) in 1878 (Meiji 11). The prints are mounted as a diptych on a single sheet of washi paper, originally printed on separate pages (pages 54 and 55) within “Transmitting the Spirit, Revealing the Form of Things: Hokusai Sketchbooks” (Denshin Kaishu: Hokusai Manga, Jūgohen) (伝神開手 北斎漫画 十五編), volume 15.

The Pulverer Collection (https://pulverer.si.edu/node/774/title/1/28) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/57390) both describe this publication and offer online views of all the prints contained within.

The prints are slightly pale in tone—possibly from a later edition? —and are printed on fine washi paper on separate sheets that have been trimmed along the centre borderline. This presentation allows the two sheets, originally separate, to be viewed as a cohesive whole laid upon a single support sheet with ample margins for display. Aside from minor areas of thinness and fractures (notably on the riverbank next to the stream on the left panel and on the lower right of the right panel), the sheets are in very good condition with no stains.

Background Information:
This diptych is from the final volume of Katsushika Hokusai’s renowned 15-volume Manga series—an expansive collection originally conceived in 1812 during a trip to Nagoya. The first set of prints was published in 1814. Initially intended as reference material for Hokusai’s students, the series quickly gained popularity among the general public, eventually expanding to over 4,000 images across multiple volumes. The term “manga” can be translated as “random sketches,” encompassing scenes from everyday life, animals, landscapes, and mythological creatures.

Dimensions:

• Abutted sheets: 22.7 x 25.4 cm
• Borderline of each panel: 17.9 x 12.8 cm 

Price & Shipping:
AU$287 (approximately US$190.85 / €162.60 / £142.81), including worldwide express shipping. Please note that import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this exceptional original woodblock diptych by Katsushika Hokusai—a scene that evokes the story of two Zen monks crossing a stream, where the younger questions the elder about the morality of carrying a beautiful lady, only to be retorted by the elder: “Brother, I set her down on the other side of the river hours ago. Why are you still carrying her?”—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.

Philipp Andreas Kilian, “Saint Cecilia Playing the Organ”, c. 1753, after Carlo Dolci

Philipp Andreas Kilian (1714–1759)
“Saint Cecilia Playing the Organ”, circa 1753 (1750–1757)

Technical Details & Condition:

This impressively large engraving with etching is printed on a huge sheet of fine laid paper (with watermark), as originally published. The print is based on an intermediate design by Charles François Hutin (also known as Charles François Huttin) (1715–1776), and is after the 1671 painting (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dolci_Cecilia_organo.jpg) held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Gallery) in Dresden. The painting itself is by the eminent Florentine Baroque painter Carlo Dolci (1616–1686).

This print is plate 43 from the series “Recueil d'estampes d'après les plus célèbres tableaux de la Galerie Royale de Dresde” — a distinguished collection of prints after the most celebrated paintings in the Dresden Royal Gallery.

Further details about this print can be found at the British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1855-0609-1263

The impression is strong, well-printed, and nearly faultless, with no signs of wear to the printing plate. Aside from minor handling marks and pencil notations on the edges by previous collectors, the sheet remains in excellent (near pristine) condition for its considerable size and age.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 74.8 x 51.2 cm
• Platemark: 37.9 x 27.9 cm
• Image Border: 32.4 x 27.2 cm

Lettered in plate below the image border:

• Left: “CFCutin del.”
• Left of centre / coat-of-arms: “Quadro di Carlino Dolci / cauato dalla Galleriá Reale / di Dresda / Alto 3. Piedi 5. Onc: Largo 2. Piedi 10. Onc:”
  (Painting by Carlo Dolci / taken from the Royal Gallery / of Dresden / Height 3.5 feet / Width 2.10 feet)
• Right of centre / coat-of-arms: “Tableau de Carlo Dolci / de la Gallerie Royale de Dresde / Haut 3. Pieds 5. Pouc: Large 2. Pieds 10 Puc:”
• Right: “P. A. Kilian sc. A.V.”

Price & Shipping:

AU$297 (approximately US$197.64 / €168.29 / £147.80), inclusive of worldwide express shipping. Please note that import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this monumental engraving depicting Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians, playing a traditional organetto—a small portable pipe organ with hand-pumped bellows and keyboard popular in medieval Europe—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.

Wijnand Otto Jan Nieuwenkamp, “Rhenen”, 1905

Wijnand Otto Jan Nieuwenkamp (1874–1950)
“Rhenen”, 1905 (published 1915)

Rhenen is a charming town in the Netherlands. The scene depicted is viewed from the Betuwe region, featuring a couple strolling along the Rhine River in the foreground. The tall Gothic tower in the background is the Cuneratoren (Cuneratower) of the Cunerakerk (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cunerakerk), and the windmill in the distant right is the Binnenmolen (Inner Mill) (see https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Binnenmolen.jpg).

Technical Details & Condition:
This is a two-colour (beige and black) woodcut (“Holzschnitt” in German, as lettered on the lower edge) on cream laid paper, with full margins as issued. The woodcut was published in Vienna in 1915 by the Society for Reproductive Art (Gesellschaft für Vervielfältigende Kunst), facing page 16 in The Graphic Arts, volume 38 (XXXVIII), issue 1 (“Die Graphischen Künste, Jahrgang XXXVIII Wien Gesellschaft für Vervielfältigende Kunst 1915 Heft 1”).

The impression is virtually faultless. Please note that the break in the borderline at the upper right is an inherent feature of this impression. The sheet is in pristine condition—free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, or signs of handling—with the binding tissue still attached verso.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 40.2 x 29.9 cm
• Image Border: 20.4 x 15.7 cm

Lettered in plate within the image borderline:

• Upper centre: (artist’s initials) “.W.D./ .J.N.”

Letterpress lettering along the lower edge of the sheet:

• Left: “W.O.J. NIEUWENKAMP, RHENEN. HOLZSCHNITT.”
• Centre: “DRUCK DER K. K. HOF-U, STAATSDRUCKEREI.”
• Right: “VERLAG DER GESELLSCHAFT FÜR VERVIELFÄLTIGENDE KUNST, WIEN.” 

Price & Shipping:
AU$263 (approximately US$175.02 / €149.03 / £130.88), inclusive of worldwide express shipping. Please note that import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this visually arresting two-colour woodcut — arguably capturing the essence of the Dutch landscape, with a low horizon emphasising the flat terrain, drawing the eye upwards to the stacked clouds and glowing haze of the sky — please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.

Theodoor Galle, “St John of Egypt Holding a Crucifix”, c. 1600

Theodoor Galle (also known as Theodor Galle, and Dirck Galle) (1571–1633)
“St John of Egypt Holding a Crucifix” (also known as “Ioannes Aegyptivs, Monachvs” [John the Egyptian Monk]), circa 1600–1612

Saint John of Egypt, also revered as Saint John the Anchorite and Saint John the Hermit, was a renowned desert father and ascetic who dwelled in the Nitrian Desert (Wadi El Natrun), Egypt, near the city of Lycopolis (modern Asyut) during the fourth century AD (circa 305–394). His life and deeds are well documented; for further information, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Egypt.

Technical Details & Condition:

This is an engraved portrait on laid paper, trimmed around the borderline and laid on an archival support sheet that provides stability and generous margins. The impression is strong, clear, and virtually faultless. The sheet exhibits a small chip on the right edge and the upper right corner; aside from these minor imperfections, it is in excellent condition with no holes, folds, or stains.

This engraving is part of the series “Four Hermits”—depicting Hilarion, Abraham, Malchus, and John of Egypt—based on drawings by Theodoor Galle and published in Antwerp by his father, Philips Galle (also known as Philippe Galle; Philippus Gallaeus) (1537–1612).

 Dimensions:

• Sheet: 13.3 x 10.4 cm
• Image Border: 12.9 x 10.3 cm

 Plate Lettering:

• Within the image border at lower left: “Theodor. Galle inuent. et Sculp.”
• Within the image border at lower right: “Phls Galle excu.”
• Within the margin at centre: “IOANNES AEGYPTIVS, MONACHVS.”

Price & Shipping:

AU$302 (approximately US$201.29 / €171.42 / £150.34), inclusive of worldwide express shipping. Please note that import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this exceptionally rare engraving—so rare that it is not held in the collections of the British Museum or the Rijksmuseum—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.

This print has been sold