Author: Dyck, Sir Anthony van (1599-1641) (after); Lucas Vorsterman, the elder (1595-1675) engraver Title: Portrait of Pieter Stevens (1552-1612, Flemish Painter and Draftsman), from Gillis Hendricx’S First Edition of Icones Principum Virorum Doctorum, Pictorum Chalcographorum Statuariorum Nec Non Amatorum Pictoriae Artis Numero Centum. (Mauquoy-Hendrickx 93, State VIII/VIII)
Description: Antwerp: Gillis Hendricx, 1645. Engraving on laid paper with fleur-de-lys watermark (Mauquoy-Hendrickx 170?). 23.3 x 15.5 cm. (sheet). Very Good. Sheet trimmed to or within the plate mark. Minor surface soiling. "Sir Anthony Van Dyck stands out as the solitary great etcher of the school. Portrait etching had scarcely had an existence before his time, and in his work it suddenly appears at the highest point ever reached in the art" (Hind, p. 165). "The plan of this publication took shape after Van Dyck returned from Italy (1626) and before he went to England (1632). He made careful preparatory drawings in chalk and brush for the publication. He directed and revised the work of the engravers, the best of the Rubens circle; he collaborated with his etching needle in some of the plates and himself etched the most beautiful set, mainly portraits of artists. One of the most brilliant in human characterization is the portrait of Peter Brueghel the Younger, son of the great Peasant Brueghel. It is remarkable that the etching appeared in this sketchy form in the book, proving that the master regarded it as finished. All interest is focussed on the wonderful had. The first edition was published in Antwerp in 1635-1636. Yet it was not complete, and the title-page did not appear before the Gillis Hendricx edition of 1645, engraved by Jacob Neels" (Benesch, Artistic and Intellectual Trends, p. 32.) Hofer, Baroque Book Illustrations 132. .
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Price: US$ 250.00 Seller: Wittenborn Art Books
- Book number: 71-0790
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