Old Master Prints (16th to 18th Century, original prints: etchings, mezzotint and burin engravings

OLD MASTER PRINTS: 16th to 18th Century

Original Prints: Etchings and Mezzotint Engravings

Here we intend to show rare and original Old Master prints, covering a rather long and innovative period in terms of the graphic arts and the printmakers, who progressively mastered a variety of media (woodcuts, etchings, mezzotint engravings), and turned them to their own creative advantage.

The main criteria are those of remarkable early works or relatively unknown works, for the artist or the period, and innovative, often well aside from the conventional aesthetics of the time...

Cornelis Pietersz. Bega (ca. 1631 - 1664)

Peasant lighting his Pipe [Le Paysan allumant sa Pipe]

Zittende Man steekt Pijp aan

Bartsch 20, Hollstein 20 (2 of 4) , Dutuit 20

etching, 2nd state, before reinforcement of the borderline, with considerable selective plate wiping, and before traces of wear to the darker areas that appear early on

A renowned Dutch printmaker from Haarlem, Cornelis Bega was a keen observer, often staging the commonplace with a witty eye. His etchings offer succinct insights into everyday scenes, following on a longstanding Breughelian tradition.

Isidro Carnicero (1736-1804)

Fiesta de Toros en el Aire

Fiesta of Bulls in the Air

Páez Rios Repertorio 429-2

etching, 1784, apparently the only known state

Carnicero's fantastic vision of aerostatic spectacles is disarming in the general context of 18th century printmaking, a novel exploration of imaginary public events that foreshadows surrealism.

Antonio Correggio (1489 - 1534) [after], etching by Luigi Scaramuccia (1616 - 1680, also known as Il Perugino)

The Virgin and Child with St Catherine and an Angel holding a Book

Bartsch, not described

etching, ca. 1640-1680, the only known state, apparently one of only a few impressions of this rare print (which does not exist for example in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris)

A moving rendition of the central scene of Correggio's masterpiece (now in Parma's Galleria Nazionale), reducing the original picture to a Sacra Conversazione, qua Mystic Marriage.

John (Johan) Faber Jr. (ca. 1695-1756)

Mr Cave Underhill

Chaloner Smith 357 (only state described)

mezzotint engraving, 1712, on medium-fine laid paper

Though born in the Netherlands, John Faber Jr was best known as a portraitist in England, and Mr Cave Underhill was a renowned actor; this rare mezzotint, according to Chaloner Smith, was probably Faber's first print.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806)

La Famille du Satyre

The Family of the Satyr

Wildenstein IV, cf. Portalis 118

etching, 1763, on medium-fine ivory laid paper; the rare 1st state (of 2), before the addition of the numbering

Plate 2 of the Bacchanales ou Jeux de Satyres, this delightful little etching is a splendid example of both Fragonard's wit and immense graphic mastery of a fantastic pseudo-antiquarian rendering Roman stelae.

Claude Lorrain, Port de Mer au fanal, etching

Claude Gellée, called Claude Lorrain (1600-1682)

Le Port de Mer au Fanal

Seaport with a Beacon

Mannocci 37 II (R-D 11, D 11, B 13, K 138, R 22)

etching, ca. 1640, on medium-weight laid paper, a very rare contemporary impression of the first known state, before various alterations and inscriptions.

Though born in Lorraine (whence his common name, Claude Lorrain), Claude Gellée spent most of his life in Rome, where he quite successfully developed a masterfully atmospheric rendering of light in painting and etching imaginary landscapes (drawing commisions from the pope, the king of Spain, and a number of cardinals), and which notably influenced Turner.

Hendrick Goltzius (1558 - 1617)

The Holy Family before a Column [after Bartholomeus Spranger]

Bartsch 274, Hollstein (Dutch) 318.1, Strauss 219.1

engraving, 1585, on medium-weight laid paper, a very fine early impression of the rare first state of this print, before Visscher's address (and thus published by Goltzius himself).

Hendrik Goltzius was a major printmaker of the Northern Mannerist style, quite innovative, and already famous in his lifetime. Here inspired by Bartholomeus Spranger (court painter to the Emperor Rudolf II), Goltzius first produced several engravings of the master's religious themes in 1585, of which this is one of the most notable.

Balthasar Jenichen (fl. 1560 - before 1621)

The True Portrait of Mathie Flacii Illiirici, also known as Matthias Flacius Illyricus, or Mathias Flach

Bartsch ( 37 IIIA, Hollstein

engraving, 1571, on medium-fine laid paper, a very fine early impression of this rare print, before various alterations to the plate

Balthasar Jenichen's forceful engraving of Mathias Flacius, a major figure of the German Reformation, is the only known lifetime portrait of the scholar.

Gabriel Pérelle (circa 1603-1677)

Suite of Six Italianate Landscapes in the Round

Le Blanc 77-102 (?)

the complete set of 6 etchings, circa 1655 (?), on medium-fine ivory laid paper, with Mariette's address

Watermark crown / fleur de lys posthorn

Pérelle was a prolific printmaker, who trained in Italy and drew inspiration for his etchings from the landscapes and monuments he studied there. In 1665 he was appointed by Louis XIV to the post of Directeur des Plans et des Cartes du Cabinet du Roi, during which he ostensibly gave up printmaking completely.

William Ward, A.R.A (1766 -1826), after John Hoppner, R.A. (1758-1810)

Sallad Girl (Portrait of Phoebe Hoppner)

Russell 47.IV (?)

mezzotint, 1783, on medium-weight cream laid paper; a rare early state (3rd or 4th of 5, according to Russell), before correction of the double L in the title.

William Ward was one of the foremost mezzotint engravers in England during the late 18th century, and this charming rendition of Hoppner's portrait of his daughter is one of Ward's most famous prints.