Old Master Through Modern Prints
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Old Master Prints from a Private American Collection
Martin schongauer
The Fourth Wise Virgin.
Engraving, circa 1490. 121x85 mm; 5x3½ inches. Trimmed on the plate mark. A superb, richly-inked impression of this extremely scarce engraving, with very strong contrasts and no sign of wear, consistent with the earliest impressions of this subject.
From a series of 10 engravings by Schongauer (1448-1491) of the Wise and Foolish Virgins which illustrate the parable in Matthew 25:1-13. According to the parable, heaven is likened to the house of a bridegroom. The five wise virgins, anticipating that they might have to await the groom, have brought enough oil to keep their lamps burning; they are shown by the artist holding their burning lamps with outstretched arms, facing to the right, with pleasant expressions and with their wedding wreaths on their heads. In contrast, the foolish virgins, unprepared for their grooms’ delay, have allowed their oil to run out and have had to go off to buy more. On their return, the bridegroom’s door was shut to them. They are shown with downcast expressions, their wedding wreaths on the ground, holding extinguished lamps and facing left. The wise virgins, ready for their grooms, are like the righteous in their preparedness for entry into heaven.
Provenance: Mary Jane Morgan, New York, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 1879). Bartsch 80; Lehrs 79.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Martin schongauer
Christ Enthroned, with two Angels.
Engraving, circa 1475-80. 170x120 mm; 6¾x4¾ inches. With thread margins outside the narrow border line or trimmed on the border line. A brilliant, richly-inked impression of this exceedingly scarce, early engraving, with very strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear.
According the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., which holds another impression of this engraving, “Christ Enthroned, with two Angels is one of the finest compositions from Schongauer’s mature period in a corpus of well over a hundred prints . . . The engraving depicts Christ in his manifestation as God the Father, redeemer of the world. Haloed, crowned, and enthroned, he bears a scepter and an orb, all symbols of celestial royalty. Two angels beneath a canopy draw apart curtains to reveal the figure of the deity bestowing his blessing. In performing this service, the angels also enact a theological metaphor. The Latin word for veil (vela) is the root of the word “revelation,” literally “to unveil.” Thus, in the modest dimensions of a print, Schongauer has presumed to perform no less than a revelation, as if to evoke the famous passage: ‘For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face’ (1 Corinthians 13:12).”
Provenance: Richard Herrlinger, Vienna, with the blue ink stamp verso (Lugt 5818; according to Lugt, Herrlinger was advised by Joseph Meder, the curator of prints at the Albertina, Vienna, who specialized in early German engravings and was the author of the definitive catalogue raisonné of prints by Albrecht Dürer). Bartsch 16; Lehrs 18.
Estimate
$30,000 – $50,000
Martin schongauer
The Crucifixion.
Engraving, circa 1480. 196x153 mm; 7¾x6¼ inches. Three mounts with a cross and flower watermark (see Lehrs 9-12). With narrow margins outside the border line. A brilliant, richly-inked impression of this exceedingly scarce engraving, with very strong contrasts and no sign of wear, consistent with his earliest impressions of this subject.
Working in Colmar, once a part of southwestern Germany that is now Alsatian France, Schongauer (1430-1491) was among the earliest known northern artists to fully utilize the craft of engraving. Many of his prints, like his few known paintings, reveal an affinity with the work of early Netherlandish artists such as Jan van Eyck, Roger van der Weyden and Dirk Bouts. Schongauer imitated the monumentality associated with the altar paintings of these celebrated Netherlandish artists.
Schongauer's exquisitely engraved images were circulated widely throughout Europe. The sheer number of engraved copies of Schongauer's prints, made by other artists during his lifetime, attests to his popularity and the significant demand for his work in the late 15th/early 16th century (Schongauer made approximately 115 engravings of different subjects, of which there are an equivalent number of different copies made by other artists during the late 15th century alone. One of Schongauer's best known engravings, The Death of the Virgin, early 1470s, was copied in at least seven different prints by the early 16th century). Most importantly, he was one of the first printmakers who developed an individual style and whose engravings helped to stimulate an interest in collecting prints hitherto unseen in northern Europe.
Schongauer's work paved the way for the success of subsequent printmakers and was profoundly influential to the generation of engravers who proceeded him, most notably Albrecht Dürer (see lots 7-11 and 25-48). In 1492, the 21-year-old prodigious Dürer intended on training with Schongauer, but arrived at the master engraver's workshop just months after his death. Dürer went on to emulate Schongauer by incising deep engraved lines in his plates to extend their printing life, thereby increasing their commercial viability, and ultimately surpassed Schongauer's appeal and popularity.
Provenance: Birmann & Söhne, Basel (Lugt 4140); Karl Ferdinand Friedrich von Nagler, Berlin, with the ink stamps verso (Lugt 2529); Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, with the ink stamp and duplicate impression ink stamp verso (Lugt 1606 and 2482); Dr. Carlos Gaa, Mannheim (see Lugt 538a); sold C. G. Boerner, Leipzig, May 5-6, 1926, lot 964); Hendrikus Egbertus ten Cate, Almelo (Lugt 533b); Richard H. Zinser, New York, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 5581). Bartsch 24; Lehrs 13.
Estimate
$60,000 – $90,000
Master ag
The Entombment.
Engraving, circa 1480-90. 148x110 mm; 6x4¼ inches. With thread margins or trimmed on the plate mark. A very good, dark and well-inked impression of this extremely scarce, early engraving, with strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear. Bartsch 11.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Israel van meckenem
Christ before Pilate.
Engraving, circa 1480. 212x146 mm; 8½x5¾ inches. Gothic letter P with a flower watermark. From Twelve Scenes of the Passion. With thread margins outside the narrow black border line. A very good impression of this extremely scarce, early engraving.
According to Shestack, Meckenem’s Christ before Pilate is, “An obvious various on the composition invented by [Martin] Schongauer. Meckenem depicts the judgment hall of Pilate. Christ is led in at the right, as Pilate washes his hands to declare his innocence (Matthew 27:24). In the left background, the cross is already being prepared, while at the right, Judas tries to return the bag of silver to the elders. The figure in the foreground who leads Christ by a rope and grasps Him by the collar appears to be derived ultimately from the executioner in the right wing of Roger van der Weyden’s St. John Altarpiece,” (Fifteenth Century Engravings of Northern Europe, Washington, D.C., 1967, number 188). Bartsch 15.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Wenzel von olmutz
St. Christopher.
Engraving, circa 1485. 165x111 mm; 6½x4½ inches. Partial high crown watermark. Trimmed on the plate mark. A very good impression of this exceedingly scarce, early engraving.
We have not found another impression at auction in the past 30 years.
Little is known about Olmütz (active circa 1481-1497), who is thought to have been principally active as a goldsmith in Central Europe. He is best known for his printed œuvre, which includes mostly engravings after the most important masters of his day, including Martin Schongauer and the young Albrecht Dürer. This engraving of St. Christopher, holding a wooden staff and transporting the Christ child across a river, is based on Schongauer’s same-titled engraving from around 1475-80 (Lehrs 56).
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Albrecht dürer
St. John the Baptist and St. Onuphrius.
Woodcut, circa 1504. 214x145 mm; 8½x5¾ inches. A superb, dark, and richly-inked Meder a impression with no sign of wear and very strong contrasts. Trimmed on the border line Bartsch 112; Meder 230.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Albrecht dürer
Coat-of-Arms with a Lion and a Cock.
Engraving, circa 1503. 185x120 mm; 7¼x4¾ inches, thread margins. A very good, dark, richly-inked Meder b-c impression with strong contrasts, with the delicate horizontal scratches lower left still distinct (Meder calls for these scratches in his “a” impressions) and with no sign of wear, consistent with the earliest impressions of this engraving.
Dürer’s (1471-1528) first engraved coat-of-arms; he made one other in addition to several woodcuts like this subject (see the following lot). This arms was likely not intended for a specific family, but rather a creation of pure fantasy by Dürer; the elaborate foliage and additional details allowing him to display his virtuoso engraving skills. Bartsch 100; Meder 97.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Albrecht dürer
Coat-of-Arms with a Skull.
Engraving, 1503. 215x154 mm; 8 1/2x6 1/8 inches. A brilliant, richly-inked and early Meder I a-b impression with particularly strong contrasts and no sign of wear, before the vertical scratch from the lowest arc of the helmet to the ground, and with burr on the tips of the wings, consistent with the earliest impressions of this subject. Trimmed on the plate mark with the narrow black border line preserved on all sides.
In this somewhat enigmatic memento mori image, Dürer (1471-1528) represents various materials–feathers, metal, foliage, hair, cloth and flesh–to tout his skill as an up-and-coming virtuoso in the art of engraving. According to Bartrum, “The figure of Death is here disguised as a wild man, the traditional German and Swiss mythological figure who is seen frequently in heraldic imagery of the period . . . The true identity of Death is revealed on the shield to the onlooker, but it is not recognized by the lady,” (Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy, London, 2002, page 148). Bartsch 101; Meder 98.
Estimate
$20,000 – $30,000
Albrecht dürer
The Mocking of Christ.
Woodcut, circa 1509-11. 127x98 mm; 5⅛x4 inches. A very good, well-inked proof impression before the 1511 Latin text edition with strong contrasts. With thread margins or trimmed on the border line. Bartsch 30; Meder 139.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Albrecht dürer
The Crucifixion.
Woodcut, 1509-11. 126x100 mm; 5x4 inches, wide margins. A superb, richly-inked impression from the 1511 Latin text edition, with very strong contrasts and no sign of wear. Bartsch 40; Meder 149.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Johannes wiericx (after dürer)
Melencolia I.
Engraving, 1602. 240x187 mm; 9½x7½ inches, thread margins. A superb, richly-inked impression of this scarce engraving with strong contrasts, with all the details distinct and with Wiericx’s name and date on the lower edge of the plate preserved. Mauquoy-Hendrickx 1556.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Albrecht dürer (after)
Knight, Death and the Devil.
Engraving, circa 1600. 240x185 mm; 9½x7¼ inches, narrow to thread margins. A very good, dark and well-inked impression with strong contrasts.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Hieronymus hopfer (after dürer)
The Abduction of Proserpine.
Etching, after 1516. 290x212 mm; 11½x8⅜ inches, thread margins. First state (of 2), before the Funck number lower center. A brilliant, dark, early and richly-inked impression with very strong contrasts and no sign of wear.
Provenance: Heinrich Buttstaedt, Berlin, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 319); Adalbert von Lanna, Prague, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 2773). Bartsch 42.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Daniel hopfer
The Death of Lucretia.
Etching, circa 1525. 224x158 mm; 9x6¼ inches, narrow margins. First state (of 2), before the Funck number. A superb, dark, richly-inked impression of this very scarce, early etching, with strong contrasts and no sign of wear.
Provenance: E. Fabricius, Berlin, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 847a). Bartsch 50.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Hans sebald beham
Adam and Eve.
Engraving, 1543. 82x57 mm; 3¼x2¼ inches, thread margins. Second state (of 5). A brilliant, richly-inked impression of this scarce engraving.
We have found only seven other impressions of this print at auction in the past 30 years. Bartsch 6; Pauli 7.
With–HEINRICH ALDEGREVER. The Good Samaritan Loading him on his Donkey, engraving, 1554. Bartsch 42 * HIERONYMUS WIERICX. The Crucifixion, engraving.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Maarten van heemskerck (after)
Christ Carrying the Cross.
Etching, circa 1570. 252x195 mm; 10x7¾ inches, thread margins. Small coat-of-arms watermark. A very good impression of this scarce etching.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
Rembrandt van rijn
The Descent from the Cross by Torchlight.
Etching and drypoint, 1654. 210x163 mm; 8¼x6½ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (of 3); New Hollstein’s second state (of 3). A very good, dark and well-inked impression with strong contrasts, all the details distinct and just the beginning indication of wear in the upper right and darkly shaded areas. Bartsch 83; Biörklund 54-G; Hollstein (White and Boon) 83; New Hollstein 286.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Jan Uytenbogaert, The Goldweigher.
Etching and drypoint, 1639. 253x204 mm; 10x8 inches, wide margins. Biörklund’s fourth state (of 4); Usticke’s third state (of 3); New Hollstein’s third state (of 3). A very, dark, well-inked impression with strong contrasts. Bartsch 281; Biörklund 39-D; Hollstein (White and Boon) 281; New Hollstein 172.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Star of Kings: A Night Piece.
Etching and drypoint, circa 1651. 94x141 mm; 3¾x5⅝ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s first state (of 2); Usticke’s first state (e) (of 7), with strong burr on the star and on the column to the left of the star and before the heavy horizontal shading lines on the face of the woman at the center; New Hollstein’s first state (of 4). The lower part (three balls) of a foolscap watermark (Ash/Fletcher 19 and 20, they cite another impression of this subject with a fragment of a foolscap watermark in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; Hinterding also notes multiple first state impressions of this subject printed on paper with either a five-pointed or seven-pointed foolscap watermark). A brilliant, early impression of this densely etched nocturne print, with all the details distinct and with no sign of wear.
Provenance: Unidentified collector, initial M ink stamp (Lugt 1842, verso; he notes that the collector is likely an early 18th century Dutch artist / collector, as the mark appears on numerous drawings and early etchings by Rembrandt); unidentified collector, small coat-of-arms with a crown ink stamp verso (not in Lugt); and Friedrich Andreas Lieberg, Buenos Aires, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 1681ter) Bartsch 113; Biörklund 51-I; Hollstein (White and Boon) 113; New Hollstein 263.
Estimate
$30,000 – $50,000
Giovanni b. castiglione
The Bodies of Saints Peter and Paul Hidden in the Catacomb.
Etching, circa 1647-51. 302x205 mm; 12x8⅛ inches, thread margins. A superb, dark, richly-inked and early impression.
Castiglione (1609-1664) was among the most original graphic artists of the 17th century, exchanging prints and ideas with his contemporary Rembrandt van Rijn, among others, as well as being one of the first artists to experiment significantly with the monotype technique. The ambitious composition of The Bodies of Saints Peter and Paul Hidden in the Catacomb reflects the influence of Rembrandt’s luminous compositions in which Christian tales are transformed into something metaphysical. The subject derives from the Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voraigne, which suggests that the saints’ bodies were cast into a well near the clandestine catacomb vault, seen here in Castiglione’s dramatic rendering. The artist often etched such erudite subjects to advertise his art and prowess as a painter-philosopher to the literati in Rome and those on the grand tour.
Provenance: Johann Andreas Boerner, Nuremberg, with his name and inscription in ink verso (Lugt 270). Bartsch 14; Percy 21.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Giovanni b. piranesi
The Well.
Etching and engraving, 1749-50. 411x560 mm; 16¼x22⅛ inches, wide margins. Second state (of 5), before the Roman numeral upper right; Robison’s second edition, first issue, printed around 1761. From Carceri d’Invenzione. A brilliant, richly-inked, early impression with very strong contrasts and no sign of wear. Robison 39.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Old Master Prints, Section I, Various Collectors
Israel van meckenem
St. Barbara.
Engraving, circa 1475-80. 166x93 mm; 6½x3¾ inches. Coat-of-arms with a lion and flower watermark (Lehrs 33; Briquet 1944, which dates to the mid-1480s). Trimmed on the plate mark with thread margins outside the narrow black border line. A very good impression of this extremely scarce, early engraving with strong contrasts. Bartsch 122.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Giovanni antonio da brescia (after mantegna)
Four Women Dancing.
Engraving, circa1497. 247x343 mm; 9¾x13½ inches. Small circle watermark or counter mark to an unknown watermark. A very good impression of this exceedingly scarce, early Italian Renaissance engraving.
According to Sheehan, “This engraving is based, in reverse, on four of the nine figures of women dancing, probably the Muses, in Mantegna’s painting of Parnassus, completed in 1497. A number of variations from the group in the picture, principally in the poses and in the views of the figures’ heads, suggest that the engraving was copied from a lost, preparatory drawing. Mantegna executed the Parnassus, as well as two other paintings, Minerva Expelling the Vices from the Grove of Virtue and Comus, for the studiolo of Isabella d’Este [in Mantua]. The Parnassus is based on the story of Venus and Mars, who were trapped in bed by a bronze net fashioned by Vulcan, her husband, and then put on display to the great amusement of the other gods,” (Early Italian Engravings from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1973, page 228).
Giovanni Antonio da Brescia (active circa 1475-1519) worked in the circle of Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506) frequently translating his drawings and other designs into engravings. During his early career he used the initials “Z.A.” to sign some twenty engravings, and until recently Zoan Andrea was regarded as a distinct printmaker; it is now realized that they are the same person, and the “Z.A.” stood for Giovanni Antonio, “Zovanni” being a north Italian spelling. Around 1507 he began to use formulae such as “IO.AN.BX.”, and signed some prints more fully. The real Zoan Andrea was a very obscure painter, documented as working in Mantua in the 1470s, who produced no engravings. Giovanni Antonio da Brescia began his traceable printmaking career in the circle of Mantegna, arriving in Mantua in the 1490s, and leaving around 1506, perhaps after Mantegna’s death that year. He may have been relatively old and experienced as an artist in another medium when he joined the aged Mantegna. It is assumed he moved to Rome, as his later engravings depict works available to him only in that city, but the date this happened varies between different accounts. He also appears to have spent time in Florence, as one of his engravings copies a drawing by Filippino Lippi. Brescia’s recently expanded œuvre comprises at least 150 engravings, including the current work. Hind 21.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Albrecht dürer
The Ill-Assorted Couple.
Engraving, before 1496. 151x139 mm; 6x5½ inches. A superb, dark and evenly-printed Meder I c impression, with the faint vertical scratch in front of the horse but before the retouching of the woman’s veil and the distant mountains, with all the details distinct and with little to no sign of wear. With thread margins or trimmed on the plate mark. Bartsch 93; Meder 77.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Albrecht dürer
The Cook and his Wife.
Engraving, circa 1496-97. 110x78 mm; 4⅜x3⅛ inches. A superb, dark and richly-inked Meder a impression with very strong contrasts and no sign of wear, consistent with the earliest impressions of this subject. Trimmed on the plate mark.
Provenance: Baron Charles Marochetti, Torino, with his initials in ink (Lugt 392, verso); G. Bewley, Cincinnati, with his initials in ink (Lugt 1137a, verso). Bartsch 84; Meder 85.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Albrecht dürer
The Dream of the Doctor.
Engraving, after 1497. 190x123 mm; 7½x4¾ inches, thread margins. A very good, dark, evenly-printed Meder e-f impression with strong contrasts. Large city gate (?) watermark (Meder 268). Bartsch 76; Meder 70.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Albrecht dürer
The Holy Faily with the Three Hares.
Woodcut, circa 1498. 395x284 mm; 15½x11¼ inches, narrow to thread margins. A very good, dark and evenly-printed Meder h impression with strong contrasts, and with the breaks in the border line but with less wear in the subject. Bartsch 102; Meder 212.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Albrecht dürer
Samson Fighting with the Lion.
Woodcut, circa 1496-97. 383x274 mm; 15¼x10¾ inches, small margins. A very good, dark and evenly-printed Meder d-e impression, with the scattered breaks in the border line but less wear in the image, with strong contrasts and with the relief from the wood block distinct on the verso. Bartsch 2; Meder 107.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Albrecht dürer
St. Michael Fighting the Dragon.
Woodcut, 1498. 391x273 mm; 15½x10¾ inches, narrow to thread margin. A brilliant, dark, richly-inked and early impression, with very strong contrasts, from the 1511 Latin text edition. From Apocalypse.
Provenance: Unidentified collector, crown in a circle blue ink stamp verso. Bartsch 72; Meder 174.
Estimate
$12,000 – $18,000
Albrecht dürer
The Nemesis.
Engraving, circa 1501-02. 335x231 mm; 13¼x9¼ inches, small to narrow margins. A superb, dark, richly-inked and early Meder II a impression, with the short vertical scratch under the center of the bridge, with burr in the heavily shaded parts of the mountains, notably at the right, with the delicate horizontal scratch between the drapery and the upper left thigh, with the several delicate scratches in between the upper feathers, with particularly strong contrasts and no sign of wear, consistent with the earliest lifetime impressions in this state. High crown watermark (Meder 20, which he dates from around 1480 to 1525 and cites for early second state impressions of this subject). An extremely scarce impression in this quality, with the wings black and great clarity in the landscape, with every detail distinct.
The early 1500s was a period of dramatic growth in Dürer’s (1471-1528) career and the fuller recognition of Italianate influence in his art. His workshop expanded with his increasing popularity, enhanced significantly by the wide-scale distribution of his engravings and woodcuts throughout Europe, with the addition of three young artists: Hans Baldung Grien (1480-1545), Hans van Kulmbach (circa 1485-1522) and Hans Schäufelein (circa 1482-1539/40). Dürer was preoccupied with a focus on the construction and proportion of the human figure at this time too, doubtlessly on account of his knowledge of Italian Renaissance art and recent travel to northern Italy, creating numerous drawings of standing female nudes and two of his most important engravings on the subject, The Nemesis and Adam and Eve, 1504.
According to Bartrum, there is a preparatory ink drawing for The Nemesis, now at the British Museum, London, which, “Is the earliest occasion that a proportionately constructed figure appears in one of his prints . . . The drawing also shows that Dürer originally planned a smaller, different type of wing, with the tips hanging down,” (Bartrum, Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy, London, 2002, page 73). A separate study of wings on the same sheet shows how he ultimately intended to make them on the engraving, larger and much more intricately detailed. Dürer’s handling of the figure of The Nemesis or Fortune was striking and revolutionary for its time, starkly silhouetted against the blank white background of the sheet of paper and floating ethereally along a drapery-like cloud lining above a minutely detailed landscape.
Bartrum notes that the subject, “Comes from the Latin poem Manto (Mantua) written by the Italian poet and philosopher Angelo Poliziano (1454-1494) and printed by Aldus Manutius in Venice in 1498. Dürer probably became acquainted with it through Pirckheimer (the humanist and Nuremberg friend of the artist). Nemesis, the classical god of retribution, whose goblet and bridle represent reward and castigation, is combined with the traditional winged figure of Fortune standing on a globe. The landscape beneath has been identified as a view of Chiusa in the southern Tyrol (Alto Adige), of which Dürer had presumably made a drawing during his journey to Italy in 1494-95, although no record survives,” (Bartrum, page 140). Bartsch 77; Meder 72.
Estimate
$50,000 – $80,000
Albrecht dürer
St. Eustace.
Engraving, circa 1501. 356x262 mm; 14x10¼ inches, thread margins. A very good, well-inked and dark Meder h impression with strong contrasts. Single-headed eagle watermark (Meder 224, which he dates from the first quarter of the 1600s). With thread margins or trimmed on the plate mark.
According to Bartsch and later Dürer (1471-1528) cataloguers, the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (1552-1612), renowned as a patron of the arts and for his Kunstkammer (artistic cabinet of curiosities), owned the original copper plate for this engraving and had it gold-plated, then continued to have impressions printed from it for collectors during the early 1600s. Bartsch 57; Meder 60.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Albrecht dürer
Pilate Washing His Hands.
Woodcut, circa 1509-11. 127x98 mm; 5 1/4x4 inches. A brilliant, richly-inked and dark proof impression before the 1511 Latin text edition with very strong contrasts and no sign of wear, consistent with the earliest impressions of this subject. With thread margins or trimmed on the border line. Bartsch 36; Meder 145.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Albrecht dürer
Christ in Limbo.
Woodcut, circa 1509-11. 128x97 mm; 5x3¾ inches, small margins. A very good, dark and richly-inked impression from the 1612 Italian text edition with strong contrasts. Bartsch 41; Meder 150.
VIRGIL SOLIS (after Dürer). Christ in Limbo, woodcut, circa 1550. 114x88 mm; 4½x3½ inches, thread margins. A superb, dark impression with strong contrasts.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Albrecht dürer
Pentecost.
Woodcut, 1509-11. 127x95 mm; 5⅛x3¾ inches, thread margins. A brilliant, dark and richly-inked proof impression before the 1511 Latin text edition, with strong contrasts and no sign of wear, consistent with the earliest impressions of this subject.
Provenance: Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 1606); and Würtemberg, Danzig, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 2606). Bartsch 51; Meder 160.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Albrecht dürer
The Madonna on the Crescent.
Woodcut, circa 1510. 330x207 mm; 13x8¼ inches, remargined. A very-good, well-inked and evenly-printed impression from the 1511 Latin text edition. Bartsch 76; Meder 188.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Albrecht dürer
The Betrothal of the Virgin.
Woodcut, 1504-05. 297x212 mm; 11¾x8⅜ inches, narrow to thread margins. A very good, dark, well-inked impression from the 1511 Latin text edition. Shovel with a flower watermark (Meder 127, which he dates from around 1471-1524 and notes for 1511 Latin text impressions of this subject). Bartsch 82; Meder 194.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Albrecht dürer
The Nativity * The Circumcision.
Two woodcuts. The Nativity, circa 1503. 297x212 mm; 11¾x8½ inches, thread margins. A good, dark Meder d impression from after the 1511 Latin text edition. Small city gate watermark (Meder 271, which he dates from around 1570) * The Circumcision, circa 1505. 296x211 mm; 11¾x8¾ inches, narrow to thread margins. A good, dark Meder h impression after the 1511 Latin text edition, with strong contrasts. Shield with a diagonal band watermark (Meder 246, which he dates from around 1600).
With–The Agony in the Garden, woodcut, 1509-11. A good, dark impression from after 1511 Latin text edition. Bartsch 85, 86 and 26; Meder 199, 198 and 135.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Albrecht dürer
Knot with a White Disk.
Woodcut, 1505-07. 275x211 mm; 11x8¼ inches. First state (of 2), before the artist’s monogram. Cross on a small mountain in a circle watermark (Meder 157, which he dates from circa 1580). With thread margins or trimmed on the border line. A very good impression of this extremely scarce woodcut with strong contrasts.
According to Passavant, Dürer’s woodcuts from the series of so-called Six Knots were based on Italian engravings from the circle of Leonardo da Vinci made around 1490-1500. Bartrum notes that the earliest impressions of Dürer’s Knot woodcuts were printed on paper with an Italian watermark of a cardinal’s hat, also seen on Dürer’s drawings from his Italian sojourn in 1505-07, which makes it likely that these woodcuts were produced by the artist while he was still in Venice or shortly after his return to Nuremberg. “It is unclear what type of ornament is indicated in these designs. They may have been designs for embroidery or they may have served as patterns for a kind of decorative puzzle for artists working in various crafts. Similar knot designs occur in paintings and mural decorations of Leonardo’s school, such as the ceiling of the Sala delle Asse in the castle at Milan,” (Bartrum, Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy, Princeton, 2002, page 161).
An exceedingly scarce woodcut; we have found only 3 other impressions at auction in the past 30 years. Bartsch 142; Meder 276.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Albrecht dürer
The Mass of St. Gregory.
Woodcut, 1511. 300x209 mm; 11⅞x8¼ inches. A very good, richly-inked, early Meder a-b impression, with strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear. Trimmed on the border line. Bartsch 123; Meder 226.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Albrecht dürer
Christ on the Mount of Olives.
Engraving, 1508. 116x71 mm; 4¾x2¾ inches. A very good, well-inked and dark Meder c-d impression, with strong contrasts. Trimmed on the plate mark. Bartsch 4; Meder 4.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Albrecht dürer
Christ before Caiaphas.
Engraving, 1512. 119x73 mm; 4¾x2⅞ inches. A very good, richly-inked, early Meder a-b impression, with strong contrasts and no sign of wear. With thread margins or trimmed on the plate mark. Bartsch 6; Meder 6.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Albrecht dürer
The Flagellation.
Engraving, 1512. 116x73 mm; 4½x2¾ inches. A very good, dark and well-inked Meder b impression, before the horizontal scratch on Christ’s thigh, with strong contrasts and no sign of wear. Trimmed on the plate mark. Bartsch 8; Meder 8.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Albrecht dürer
Christ on the Cross.
Engraving, 1511. 118x74 mm; 4⅝x2⅞ inches. A very good, dark and well-inked Meder d-e impression with strong contrasts. Trimmed on the plate mark. Bartsch 13; Meder 13.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Albrecht dürer
The Resurrection.
Engraving, 1512. 117x73 mm; 4⅝x2⅞ inches. A very good, well-inked and evenly-printed Meder c impression, with the vertical scratch over Christ’s knee, with strong contrasts. Trimmed on the plate mark. Bartsch 17; Meder 17.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Albrecht dürer
Melencolia I.
Engraving, 1514. 242x189 mm; 9½x7½ inches. A very good, early and evenly-printed Meder II b-c impression, before the scratch on the sphere lower left and the scratches on the nails lower right, with the number “9” corrected in the third row of the number square upper right, with strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear. Partial (?) indiscernible watermark. Trimmed on the plate mark, with partial thread margins outside the thin black border line.
Dürer’s Melencolia I, St. Jerome in his Study and Knight, Death and the Devil, all from 1514 and related in size, style and technical complexity, have been considered his master engravings (or “meisterstiche”) since their creation nearly 500 years ago. Replete with symbols (some recognized and some cryptic) and brimming with psychological content, Melencolia I is perhaps the most persistently studied and written about image in the history of art next to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.
Melencolia I has been described as representing the contemplative life, and more specifically the melancholic pitfalls of an overly intellectual, creative temperament, with the large seated figure in the engraving possibly an allegory of the artist himself, symbolizing artistic melancholy.
Certainly an event that shaped Dürer’s life and his outlook during this period was the illness and death of his mother on May 16, 1514. Whatever part this played in his creation of Melencolia I, it is clear from his diary entries as well as a moving charcoal portrait of his mother from 1514 (now in the Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen, Berlin), in which he detailed her illness, that her death weighed heavily on his mind leading up to and during the creation of this engraving.
While modern scholars often group Dürer’s three master engravings from 1514 together, suggesting they were conceived as a set by the artist and commercially offered as such, this was evidently not the artist’s intent (though the Roman numeral “I” in the title of the current work might also suggest that Dürer had a series in mind). He often sold impressions of Melencolia I and St. Jerome in his Study together, though this is likely due to their highly recognized importance even during his life and their contemporaneous creation. Bartsch 74; Meder 75.
Estimate
$25,000 – $35,000
Albrecht dürer
Philip Melanchthon.
Engraving, 1526. 174x127 mm; 7x5 inch, with thread margins. A very good, dark and well-inked Meder c impression, with the scratch on the forehead distinct, strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear.
Provenance: Dr. Gustav Seeligmann, New York, with the ink stamp (Lugt 1215, verso). Bartsch 105; Meder 104.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Albrecht dürer (after)
Adam and Eve.
Engraving, circa 1600. 257x196 mm; 10¼x8 inches. The letters CCB in a double-circle watermark. With thread margins or trimmed on the plate mark. A very good, evenly-printed impression with strong contrasts.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Leonardo da vinci (after)
Disegni di Leonardo da Vinci, Incisi sugli Originali da Carlo Giuseppe Gerli.
Bound volume with complete text and 61 engravings, 1830. 490x335 mm; 19¼x13¼ inches (sheets), full margins. Original printed paste board covers (worn). Published by Giuseppe Vallardi, Milan.
This is the second edition of engravings by Gerli (active second half 18th century) after drawings by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) from his Codex Atlanticus and other manuscripts now in the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan. The first edition was published in 1784 in Milan by Gerli.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
Lucas van leyden
Joseph Telling His Dream to Jacob.
Engraving, 1512. 127x169 mm; 5¼x6¾ inches. First state (of 2), before the address of Petri. With narrow to thread margins outside the border line. A very good, dark and well-inked impression of this scarce engraving with strong contrasts and no sign of wear.
Provenance: Naudet, Paris, dated 1795 in ink, verso (Lugt 1938). Bartsch 19; Volbehr 18; New Hollstein 19.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Lucas van leyden
The Poet Virgil Suspended in a Basket.
Engraving, 1525. 243x185 mm; 9½x7¼ inches. First state (of 3), before the address of Petri. Small four quadrant shield with a flower and an indiscernible name watermark. With thread margins or trimmed on the plate mark. A very good, crisp and clear impression of this important, scarce engraving, with strong contrasts and with all the details distinct. Bartsch 136; Volbehr 134; New Hollstein 136.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Georg pencz
The Magician Virgil Suspended in the Basket.
Engraving, circa 1542. 56x81 mm; 2¼x3¼ inches. Fourth state (of 4). Trimmed on the plate mark. A superb, richly-inked impression with very strong contrasts and no sign of wear, consistent with the earliest impressions of this subject.
With–The Courtesan on the Fire Stake, engraving. 62x83 mm; 2½x3¼ inches. Trimmed on the plate mark. Bartsch 87 and 88.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Heinrich aldegrever
The Judgment of Solomon.
Engraving, 1555. 107x79 mm; 4¼x3¼ inches. Trimmed on the plate mark. A very good, dark and well-inked impression of this scarce engraving, with strong contrasts and no sign of wear. Bartsch 29.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
Heinrich aldegrever
Latin Alphabet on a Richly Decorated Plate Between Two Genii.
Engraving, circa 1550. 77x125 mm; 3¼x5 inches, narrow margins. A superb, dark, early impression of this extremely scarce engraving, with strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear. Bartsch 206.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Heinrich aldegrever
Adam with a Lion.
Engraving, 1540. 92x63 mm; 3¾x2½ inches, thread margins. A very good, dark and richly-inked impression of this scarce engraving. Bartsch 11.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Hans sebald beham
The Expulsion from Paradise.
Engraving, 1543. 83x57 mm; 3¼x2¼ inches. Third state (of 3). Trimmed on the plate mark. A superb, dark, early impression with strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear.
Provenance: Hermann Marx, Cobham, Surrey, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 2816a). Bartsch 7; Pauli 8.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Hans sebald beham
The Virgin and Child with the Parrot.
Engraving, 1549. 82x59 mm; 3¼x2¼ inches. Third state (of 3). Trimmed on the plate mark. A superb, richly-inked impression of this extremely scarce engraving, with no sign of wear, consistent with the earliest impressions of this subject.
Provenance: W. B. Dukes, London, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 2757a). Bartsch 19; Pauli 21.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Hans baldung grien
The Last Judgment.
Woodcut, circa 1505-07. 260x175 mm; 10¼x7 inches, narrow to thread margins. Second state (of 2), with Dürer’s monogram upper left. A superb, dark and richly-inked impression with little to no sign of wear, very strong contrasts and the relief from the wood block still distinct on the verso. Bartsch 124 (as Dürer); Hollstein 58.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Hans baldung grien
Group of Seven Wild Horses.
Woodcut, 1534. 212x325 mm; 8¼x12¾ inches, small to narrow margins. Small city gate (?) watermark. A very good impression of this extremely scarce woodcut.
We have found only five other impressions at auction in the past 30 years.
According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, where there is another impression of this woodcut, along with the two other subjects which form the series of three, “In 1534 Baldung [1484/85-1545] made three woodcuts of wild horses in a dark and dense forest, a subject unique to him that had neither precedent nor following. The prints are so idiosyncratic that they must have had strong personal meaning for him, then in about his fiftieth year. Even though the horses and their poses do not look entirely real, they are fascinating in their strangeness and intensity. This [a Group of Seven Horses] is the least overtly sexual of the three works, but it may be guessed that the stallions are fighting for possession of a mare.
In the equestrian monument or portrait, in both antiquity and the Renaissance, the horse was deemed a noble creature, a fitting mount for the ruler or leader being glorified, and both Leonardo da Vinci and [Albrecht] Dürer made plans for treatises on the ideal proportions of the horse. Also since antiquity, however, horses–both stallions and mares–were equally reputed to be extraordinarily lustful. Further, in Germanic folklore the horse was associated with evil forces often having to do with witchcraft. The larger subject of these woodcuts, with their violence and pent-up energy, is the power of forces beyond man’s understanding or control, specifically the overwhelming strength of the carnal instinct. Bartsch 56.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Johann ladenspelder
Venus and Cupid.
Engraving, circa 1535-40. 90x60 mm; 3¾x2½ inches, thread margins. From the Planets. A very good impression of this extremely scarce engraving.
Ladenspelder (1512-circa 1575) was a German printmaker active in Essen who is best known as a meticulous copyist (though this engraving and the series of which is part are of his own invention). He engraved a complete set of Tarocchi cards, known as the E Series of Mantegna Tarocchi, which is still among the earliest known extant sets of these scarce Italian Renaissance cards, and also produced numerous skillful engravings after Albrecht Dürer’s (1471-1528) master prints. Bartsch 13.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
Allaert claesz
St. Mary Egyptiaca, Carried Away by Four Angels.
Engraving, circa 1550. 97x68 mm; 4x2¾ inches, thread margins. A brilliant, richly-inked, early impression of this extremely scarce engraving.
Claesz (1498-1562) was a Dutch printmaker who worked in Amsterdam and Utrecht and is known for his small-scale engravings which emulate the German “Little Masters” including Hand Sebald Beham and Heinrich Aldegrever.
Provenance: W. B. Dukes, London, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 2757a); and Hermann Marx, Cobham, Surrey, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 2816a). Hollstein 111.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Marcantonio raimondi (after raphael)
The Judgment of Paris.
Engraving, circa 1510-20. 292x434 mm; 11½x17 inches, thread margins. Second state (of 2), with the address of Salamanca. Animal in a circle with an indiscernible name watermark. A very good, dark and well-inked impression of this important Renaissance engraving.
Of the nearly 250 engravings created by Raimondi (circa 1480-circa 1534), approximately 50 are known to be based on designs by the iconic Renaissance artist Raphael (1483-1520). The 16th century Florentine artist and chronicler Giorgio Vasari credited Raimondi and Raphael with inventing “reproductive printmaking” and thereby the market for prints made after famous paintings and sculpture, which is still thriving to this day. Vasari claimed that Raimondi’s engravings were produced after paintings and frescoes by Raphael and that Raphael had a significant role in the production and marketing of these engravings, though recent scholarship has shown that for the most part Raimondi (and his “school” or workshop, including Agostino Veneziano and Marco Dente) worked from drawings by Raphael and that the engraver took the lead in popularizing these prints. Nevertheless, Raphael and Raimondi were clearly close collaborators. Raimondi was depicted as a sediario in Raphael’s fresco in the Stanza di Eliodoro, 1511, of the famous Vatican Stanze; he acted as a witness in Raphael’s purchase of two houses in Rome in 1515; and Raimondi engraved an intimate portrait of Raphael around 1518 (Bartsch 496).
The Judgment of Paris is based on a small grisaille painting by a member of Raphael’s school in the Stanza della Segnatura of the Vatican Stanze and the existence of several copies of lost drawings of this composition indicate more direct ties to Raphael himself. This famous composition has been appropriated, in whole and parts, by many artists over the centuries, most notably by Édouard Manet in Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe, 1862-63, now in the Musée d’Orsay, Paris. Bartsch 245.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Giovanni b. ghisi (after giulio romano)
The Trojans Repelling the Greeks.
Engraving, 1538. 409x585 mm; 16¼x23¼ inches. Second state (of 2), with the address of Rossi lower right. The letters IHS in an oval watermark. Trimmed on the plate mark with narrow to thread margins outside the borderline. A very good impression of this large engraving with strong contrasts. Bartsch 20.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Giorgio ghisi (after giulio romano)
The Death of Procris.
Engraving, circa 1540. 400x565 mm; 15¾x22¼ inches, narrow to thread margins. Seventh state (of 10), with the address of Thomassin. A very good, dark and evenly-printed impression of this large engraving with strong contrasts. Bartsch 61; Lewis 5.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Nicolò boldrini (after titian)
Samson and Delilah.
Woodcut, circa 1560s. 305x495 mm; 12x19½ inches. Crowned coat-of-arms with fleur-de-lys and a diagonal band and the letter IP watermark. With thread margins or trimmed on the border line. A very good, dark and well-inked impression of this extremely scarce woodcut.
Provenance: Unidentified collector, the letter Z black ink stamp verso (Lugt 2683, which he notes appears on numerous 16th and 17th century drawings in public collections). Muraro/Rosand 48.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Agostino carracci
Mercury and the Three Graces.
Engraving, 1589. 199x255 mm; 7¾x10¼ inches, thread margins. First state (of 3). Three crescents watermark. A very good impression of this scarce engraving with strong contrasts. Bartsch 117; DeGrazia 149.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
Philips galle (after heemskerck)
The Parable of the Prodigal Son.
Set of 6 engravings, 1562. Each 207x246 mm; 8¼x9¾ inches, narrow to thread margins. Each in the third state (of 4), with the address of Thedor Galle. Most sheets with a double-headed eagle watermark. Very good impressions with strong contrasts. New Hollstein 360-365.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Jan gossaert (after)
The Head of John the Baptist is Brought to Herod at the Feast.
Engraving and etching, circa 1575-1625. 247 mm; 9¾ inches, thread margins. A very good impression of this extremely scarce print.
We have not found another impression at auction in the past 30 years. There is another impression of this print in the British Museum, London (inventory number 1931.0119.3).
Provenance: the artist Yoshijiro Unishibara (1888-1953), Tokyo, with the red ink stamp verso (not in Lugt).
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Hendrick goltzius
The Saved Souls Entering Heaven.
Engraving, circa 1578. 261 mm; 10½ inches (diameter). Trimmed on or just inside the plate mark, with the text around the border preserved. A very good impression of this extremely scarce engraving with strong contrasts. Bartsch 283.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
Hendrick goltzius
Demogorgon in the Cave of Eternity (The Magician).
Chiaroscuro woodcut printed in green, tan and black, circa 1588-90. 342x258 mm; 13½x10¼ inches (oval). Trimmed on the border line with the border line preserved all around the image. A superb, richly-inked impression of this very scarce woodcut, with strong colors and with the relief from the wood block distinct on the verso. Bartsch 238; Hollstein 374; Bialler 26.
Estimate
$15,000 – $20,000
Aegidius sadeler ii
Portrait of Bartholomeus Spranger with an Allegory on the Death of His Wife, Christina Müller.
Engraving, 1600. 297x420 mm; 11¾x16½ inches. First state (of 2), before the address of Marco Sadeler. With thread margins or trimmed on the plate mark. A very good, evenly-printed and dark impression of this scarce engraving. Hollstein 332.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Jacques callot
La Grande Chasse.
Etching, 1619. 196x463 mm; 7¾x18¾ inches. First state (of 4), with the two birds upper center distinct and separate from the branches of the tree and with the more lightly etched background details distinct. Trimmed on or just inside the plate mark. A brilliant, dark and richly-inked impression with very strong contrasts and no sign of wear, consistent with the earliest impressions of this subject.
According to Lieure, extremely scarce in this early first state (“R.R.”). Lieure 353.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Anthony van dyck
Christ Crowned with Thorns.
Etching, circa 1631. 260x212 mm; 10¼x8⅜ inches, narrow margins. Third state (of 8). A brilliant, richly-inked and early impression, with very strong contrasts, all the details distinct and no sign of wear, consistent with the earliest impressions of this subject. Hollstein 20.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van Rijn, Etchings from a Private European Collection
Rembrandt van rijn
The Artist’s Mother, Head and Bust: Three-Quarters Right.
Etching, 1628. 67x64 mm; 2¾x2½ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s third state (of 4), before the posthumous rework of the plate. A very good, crisp impression of this extremely scarce, early portrait, with sharp, partially inky plate edges and the artist’s initials and date upper right distinct. Bartsch 354; Biörklund 28-A; Hollstein (White and Boon) 354; New Hollstein 5.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Rembrandt van rijn
A Man Crying Out, Three-Quarters Left: Bust.
Etching, circa 1629. 40x34 mm; 1¾x1½ inches, narrow to thread margins. Biörklund’s sixth state (of 6); Usticke’s fifth state (of 5); White and Boon’s sixth state (of 6); New Hollstein’s seventh state (of 7). A superb, dark impression of this extremely scarce, early etching, with strong contrasts and no sign of wear.
Provenance: August Artaria, Vienna, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 33). Bartsch 300; Biörklund 31-3 E; Hollstein (White and Boon) 300; New Hollstein 33b.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Old Beggar Woman with a Gourd.
Etching, circa 1629. 95x47 mm; 3¾x1¾ inches, wide margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s only state (e); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s second state (of 2). A superb, richly-inked and dark impression, with the diagonal scratch through the gourd distinct, and with crisp, partially inky plate edges. Bartsch 168; Biörklund 30-16; Hollstein (White and Boon) 168; New Hollstein 40.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Turbaned Soldier on Horseback.
Etching, circa 1629. 83x58 mm; 3¼x2¼ inches. Usticke’s second state (e) (of 2); New Hollstein’s second state (of 2). With thread margins or trimmed on the plate mark. A superb, evenly-printed impression of this extremely scarce etching, with very strong contrasts and with the scratches to the right of the foliage at the upper left distinct. Bartsch 139; Biörklund 32-6; Hollstein (White and Boon) 139; New Hollstein 43.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Rembrandt van rijn
The Small Lion Hunt (with One Lion).
Etching, circa 1629. 155x121 mm; 6⅛x4¾ inches, thread margins. Usticke’s only state (e), with the profusion of delicate vertical scratches in the background. Foolscap with a 5-pointed collar watermark (Ash/Fletcher 19; they note similar watermarks on the impressions of this subject in the British Museum, London, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). A superb, early and richly-inked impression of this extremely scarce etching. Bartsch 116; Biörklund 29-3; Hollstein (White and Boon) 116; New Hollstein 29.
Estimate
$12,000 – $18,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Small Lion Hunt (with Two Lions).
Etching, circa 1629. 155x123 mm; 6⅛x4⅞ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (e) (of 2); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s second state (of 2). A superb, richly-inked, early impression of this very scarce etching, with burr on the spear and surrounding area and with partially inky plate edges.
Provenance: Georg Rath, Budapest, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 1206). Bartsch 115; Biörklund 41-3; Hollstein (White and Boon) 115; New Hollstein 28.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Beggar Seated Warming his Hands at a Chafing Dish.
Etching, circa 1630. 78x46 mm; 3⅛x1⅞ inches. Biörklund’s second state (of 2), with the shading on the bundle; Usticke’s only state (e); New Hollstein’s second state (of 2). With thread margins or trimmed on the plate mark. A very good impression of this very scarce, early etching.
According to Usticke, “A scarce little print (R +).”
Provenance: J. Burleigh James, Knowbury Park, Shropshire, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 1425, who notes that James’s collection was renowned for its Dürer and Rembrandt prints). Bartsch 173; Biörklund 30-1; Hollstein (White and Boon) 173; New Hollstein 44.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Beggar Man and a Beggar Woman Conversing.
Etching, 1630. 78x66 mm; 3⅛x2⅝ inches, thread margins. Usticke’s first state (of 3), before the scratches between the man’s hand and the woman’s hip; New Hollstein’s first state (of 3). A superb, dark, early impression with strong contrasts and no sign of wear.
The two beggars represented on this plate, which is among Rembrandt’s earliest etched compositions with a pair of peasant figures, bear a striking resemblance to the beggar man and woman on his early Sheet of Studies, etching, circa 1632.
Provenance: George Biörklund, Stockholm, author of the catalogue raisonné of Rembrandt’s etchings, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 1138c). Bartsch 164; Biörklund 30-A; Hollstein (White and Boon) 164; New Hollstein 45.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Rembrandt van rijn
Man in Coat and Fur Cap Leaning against a Bank.
Etching, circa 1630. 112x78 mm; 4⅜x3⅛ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s first state (of 3); Usticke’s first state (of 3); White and Boon’s first state (of 3); New Hollstein’s first state (of 3). Partial (two balls) foolscap watermark. A superb, dark and richly-inked impression with strong contrasts and no sign of wear. Bartsch 151; Biörklund 30-6; Hollstein (White and Boon) 151; New Hollstein 48.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Beggar with a Wooden Leg.
Etching, circa 1630. 114x66 mm; 4½x2¾ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (e) (of 3); New Hollstein’s third state (of 4). A very good, well-inked impression with crisp plate edges and strong contrasts.
Provenance: Unidentified collection, inscription with a name in ink, verso. Bartsch 179; Biörklund 30-4; Hollstein (White and Boon) 179; New Hollstein 49.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Rembrandt van rijn
Christ Disputing with the Doctors: Small Plate.
Etching, 1630. 90x68 mm; 3½x2⅝ inches, small margins. Biörklund’s third state (of 3); Usticke’s fourth state (of 6); White and Boon’s third state (of 3); New Hollstein’s fifth state (of 5). Partial indiscernible watermark, possibly the edge of a coat-of-arms. A very good, well-inked impression of this scarce, early etching, with crisp, partially inky plate edges and the details distinct. Bartsch 66; Biörklund 30-D; Hollstein (White and Boon) 66; New Hollstein 53.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Rembrandt van rijn
Woman with a High Headdress Wrapped around the Chin: Bust.
Etching, circa 1630. 69x58 mm; 2¾x2¼ inches, thread margins. New Hollstein’s second state (of 2). A very good, well-inked impression of this extremely scarce etching, with strong contrasts and no sign of wear.
We have found only ten other impressions at auction in the past 30 years. Bartsch 358; Hollstein (White and Boon) 358; New Hollstein 58.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The White Negress.
Etching, circa 1630. 112x84 mm; 4½x3½ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (e) (of 2); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s third state (of 3). A superb, well-inked and early impression of this scarce etching with very strong contrasts and no sign of wear. Bartsch 357; Biörklund 30-17; Hollstein (White and Boon) 357; New Hollstein 56.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Bust of a Man Wearing a High Cap, Three-Quarters Right: The Artist’s Father (?).
Etching and drypoint, 1630. 105x86 mm; 4⅛x3⅜ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s third state (of 7); New Hollstein fourth state (of 6). A very good, dark impression before the Basan rework with strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear. Bartsch 321; Biörklund 30-F; Hollstein (White and Boon) 321; New Hollstein 57.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Artist’s Mother with her Hand on her Chest: Small Bust.
Etching, 1631. 94x65 mm; 3¾x2½ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s third state (of 4); Usticke’s third state (of 7); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s second state (of 6). A superb, dark and early impression with all the delicate lines distinct, with strong contrasts and no sign of wear and with the sharp, partially inky plate edges. Bartsch 349; Biörklund 31-9; Hollstein (White and Boon) 349; New Hollstein 87.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Artist’s Mother Seated, in an Oriental Headdress: Half Length.
Etching, 1631. 146x128 mm; 5¾x5 inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 3). Usticke’s second state (of 4), before the heavy rework; White and Boon’s second state (of 3); New Hollstein’s fourth state (of 6). A good, dark impression of this scarce, early etching. Bartsch 348; Biörklund 31-H; Hollstein (White and Boon) 348; New Hollstein 86.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Old Man with Beard, Fur Cap and Velvet Cloak.
Etching and engraving, circa 1631. 125x125 mm; 5x5 inches. Biörklund’s third state (of 4); Usticke’s second state (of 3); White and Boon’s second state (of 3); New Hollstein’s second state (of 3), before the posthumous rework of the plate. Trimmed inside the plate mark with most of the subject preserved. A very good, dark and early impression with strong contrasts and no sign of wear. Bartsch 262; Biörklund 32-2; Hollstein (White and Boon) 262; New Hollstein 92.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Persian.
Etching, 1632. 108x79 mm; 4¼x3⅛ inches, wide margins. Usticke’s second state (i) (of 4), with the diagonal scratch above the plume; New Hollstein’s third state (of 3). A very good, dark and well-inked impression. Bartsch 152; Biörklund 32-A; Hollstein (White and Boon) 152; New Hollstein 110.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Raising of Lazarus: The Larger Plate.
Etching and engraving, circa 1632. 370x261 mm; 14½x10¼ inches, narrow to thread margins. Biörklund’s eighth state (of 9); Usticke’s seventh state(of 10), White and Boon’s eighth state (of 10); New Hollstein’s fifth state (of 9), before the Watelet rework. Strasburg Lily watermark (Ash/Fletcher 36, they cite impressions of this subject in the same state on paper with similar Strasburg Lily watermarks in the Museum of Fine Art, Boston, and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; Hinterding notes similar watermarks on other fifth state impressions). A very good, well-inked, dark and evenly-printed impression with strong contrasts. Bartsch 73; Biörklund 32-4; Hollstein (White and Boon) 73; New Hollstein 113.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Descent from the Cross: Second Plate.
Etching and engraving, 1633. 523x405 mm; 20¾x16 inches, small margins. Biörklund’s fifth state (of 5); Usticke’s fourth state (of 5); White and Boon’s fifth state (of 5); New Hollstein’s sixth state (of 8), with the address of Danckerts in the lower margin burnished but still partially showing. A good, dark impression of this large etching, with strong contrasts. Bartsch 81; Biörklund 33-C; Hollstein (White and Boon) 81; New Hollstein 119.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Self Portrait in a Cap and Scarf with the Face Dark: Bust.
Etching, 1633. 132x103 mm; 5¼x4 inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s third state (of 3); Usticke’s third state (of 5); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s third state (of 5). A very good, well-inked impression with little to no sign of wear, even in the most densely cross-hatched areas such as the shadow on the face, the beret and the cloak.
Rembrandt (1606-1669) etched some 30 self-portraits, with 27 singular images of himself and several others of himself in different guises or grouped with other portrait studies. This etching, created at the age of 27, two years after he had moved to Amsterdam from Leyden to establish himself as an independent artist, and just months before he married Saskia van Uylenburgh (the first cousin of the art dealer and print publisher Hendrick van Uylenburgh), is among Rembrandt’s most introspective self-portraits. The dark shading covering much of his face, which rapidly disappears in later impressions, the deep-set eyes and the quiet, hunched pose lend it a reserved appearance, which is markedly different from the proud, well-lit, frontal poses of his subsequent self-portraits from the mid-to-late-1630s, as his stature as a foremost Dutch artist was rising. Bartsch 17; Biörklund 33-G; Hollstein (White and Boon) 17; New Hollstein 120.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Jan Cornelis Sylvius.
Etching, 1633. 166x142 mm; 6⅝x5⅝ inches. Biörklund’s first state (of 2); Usticke’s first state (of 3); New Hollstein first state (of 3). Seven Provinces watermark (Ash/Fletcher 34). Trimmed on the plate mark. A very good, well-inked, early impression with strong contrasts and with all the fine lines distinct.
This is Rembrandt’s first etched portrait of the Amsterdam preacher and relative of his wife Saskia, Jan Cornelis Sylvius (he was also the godfather of the couple’s first child). Rembrandt (1606-1669) made a second, posthumous portrait etching of Sylvius in 1646 (Bartsch 280). Bartsch 266; Biörklund 33-H; Hollstein (White and Boon) 266; New Hollstein 124.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds.
Etching, engraving and drypoint, 1634. 260x216 mm; 10¼x8½ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s third state (of 3); Usticke’s first state (of 5); White and Boon’s third state (of 3); New Hollstein’s third state (of 6. Auvergne watermark (Ash/Fletcher 39 E. and F., which they date to the mid-1700s). A very good, well-inked and crisp impression with strong contrasts, before significant wear in the black patch beneath the angel’s wing and with touches of burr in the clouds of putti, on the goats’ faces and on the cow’s leg and hind-quarter.
Provenance: Raphael Grigorievich Goldberg, Saint Petersburg, with the violet ink stamp on the old mount (Lugt 5371). Bartsch 44; Biörklund 34-J; Hollstein (White and Boon) 44; New Hollstein 125.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Joseph’s Coat Brought to Jacob.
Etching, circa 1633. 107x81 mm; 4¼x3¼ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (of 4); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s second state (of 2). A very good, well-inked and dark impression with strong contrasts and crisp plate edges. Bartsch 38; Biörklund 33-1; Hollstein (White and Boon) 38; New Hollstein 122.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Christ and the Woman of Samaria among Ruins.
Etching and drypoint, 1634. 121x90 mm; 5x3¾ inches. Biörklund’s first state (of 2); Usticke’s first state (of 4); White and Boon’s first state (of 2); New Hollstein’s first state (of 5). Trimmed on or inside the plate mark. A very good, well-inked, early and crisp impression with strong contrasts and traces of burr. Bartsch 71; Biörklund 34-L; Hollstein (White and Boon) 71; New Hollstein 127.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Rembrandt van rijn
Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife.
Etching, 1634. 92x115 mm; 3⅝x4½ inches, narrow to thread margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s third state (of 5); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s third state (of 4). A very good, richly-inked impression. Bartsch 39; Biörklund 34-G; Hollstein (White and Boon) 39; New Hollstein 128.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Rembrandt van rijn
Christ at Emmaus: The Smaller Plate.
Etching and drypoint, 1634. 103x73 mm; 4x2⅞ inches, thread margins. Usticke’s second state (of 2), with the delicate vertical lines below the dog’s chest. A very good, dark and well-inked impression of this scarce etching. Bartsch 88; Biörklund 34-K; Hollstein (White and Boon) 88; New Hollstein 129.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Tribute Money.
Etching and drypoint, circa 1634. 69x102 mm; 2⅞x4⅛ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (e) (of 3); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s second state (of 4), before the Basan rework. A very good, dark impression with strong contrasts and partially inky plate edges. Bartsch 68; Biörklund 35-2; Hollstein (White and Boon) 68; New Hollstein 138.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Stoning of St. Stephen.
Etching and drypoint, 1635. 96x86 mm; 3¾x3½ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (of 4); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s third state (of 4). A superb, dark and well-inked impression with very strong contrasts and with the diagonal rays upper right distinct. Bartsch 97; Biörklund 35-A; Hollstein (White and Boon) 97; New Hollstein 140.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Strolling Musicians.
Etching, circa 1635. 140x119 mm; 5½x4¾ inches, wide margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (of 3); White and Boon’s third state (of 3); New Hollstein’s third state (of 3). A very good, dark and richly-inked impression with strong contrasts and crisp, inky plate edges. Bartsch 119; Biörklund 38-8; Hollstein (White and Boon) 119; New Hollstein 141.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
St. Jerome Kneeling in Prayer, Looking Down.
Etching, 1635. 115x80 mm; 4½x3⅛ inches, thread margins. Usticke’s second state (of 3); New Hollstein’s second state (of 2). A very good, dark impression with strong contrasts and partially inky plate edges. Bartsch 102; Biörklund 35-H; Hollstein (White and Boon) 102; New Hollstein 142.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Crucifixion: Small Plate.
Etching, circa 1635. 97x68 mm; 4x2¾ inches, small margins. Usticke’s second state (of 4); New Hollstein’s third state (of 3). A very good, dark impression with strong contrasts. Bartsch 80; Biörklund 35-1; Hollstein (White and Boon) 80; New Hollstein 143.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Pancake Woman.
Etching and drypoint, 1635. 110x80 mm; 4½x3¼ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 5); Usticke’s second state (of 6); White and Boon’s second state (of 3); New Hollstein’s second state (of 7). A very good, crisp, dark and early impression with strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear. Bartsch 124; Biörklund 35-I; Hollstein (White and Boon) 124; New Hollstein 144.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Bald Old Man with a Short Beard, in Profile Right.
Etching, circa 1635. 66x57 mm; 2¾x2¼ inches, thread margins. Usticke’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s second state (of 2). A very good, crisp and early impression of this extremely scarce etching, with partially inky and uneven plate edges.
According to Biörklund, “The earliest impressions show very uneven plate edges, later they were made even and slightly bevelled.” According the Usticke, “A very rare small sketch.”
Provenance: Országos Képtár, National Gallery, Budapest, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 2000). Bartsch 306; Biörklund 35-6; Hollstein (White and Boon) 306; New Hollstein 147.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Old Bearded Man in a High Fur Cap, with Eyes Closed.
Etching, circa 1635. 113x103 mm; 4¾x4¼ inches, narrow margins. New Hollstein’s second state (of 4), before the strong horizontal shading in the lower right corner. A superb, dark, richly-inked and early impression with very strong contrasts, crisp, partially inky plate edges and no sign of wear, consistent with the earliest impressions of this subject. Bartsch 290; Biörklund 35-3; New Hollstein 148.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The First Oriental Head.
Etching, 1635. 151x126 mm; 6x5 inches. Biörklund’s third state (of 3); Usticke’s only state (l); White and Boon’s third state (of 3); New Hollstein’s fifth state (of 5). Trimmed on the plate mark. A very good, richly-inked impression with strong contrasts. Bartsch 286; Biörklund 35-E; Hollstein (White and Boon) 286; New Hollstein 149.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Jan Uytenbogaert, Preacher of the Remonstrants.
Etching, 1635. 226x187 mm; 9x7½ inches, small margins. Biörklund’s fifth state (of 6); Usticke’s second state (of 6); White and Boon’s fifth state (of 6); New Hollstein’s fifth state (of 9), before the posthumous rework of the plate. The lower part (?) of an unidentified coat-of-arms or shield (?) watermark. A brilliant, richly-inked and early impression, with traces of burr in the curtain upper right and in the letter “f.” after the artist’s signature upper left, with strong contrasts and no sign of wear. Bartsch 279; Biörklund 35-D; Hollstein (White and Boon) 279; New Hollstein 153.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Menasseh Ben Israel.
Etching, 1636. 148x107 mm; 5⅞x4¼ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 4); Usticke’s second state (of 4); White and Boon’s second state (of 3); New Hollstein’s second state (of 5). A very good, crisp and early impression with strong contrasts and sharp, partially inky plate edges.
Provenance: Ferdinand de Portugal, Bragança, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 968). Bartsch 269; Biörklund 36-C; Hollstein (White and Boon) 269; New Hollstein 156.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Studies of the Head of Saskia and Others.
Etching, 1636. 153x125 mm; 6x4⅞ inches. Usticke’s first state (of 2), before the horizontal scratches between the head of the man with the turban and Saskia’s head; New Hollstein’s first state (of 2). The lower part of a Strasburg Lily watermark (Hinterding, illustrated page 471, which he dates to 1632). With thread margins or trimmed on the plate mark. A brilliant, richly-inked and early impression with all the fine lines distinct and with no sign of wear, consistent with the earliest impressions of this subject.
Provenance: Alexander Beugo, London, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 82). Bartsch 365; Biörklund 36-B; Hollstein (White and Boon) 365; New Hollstein 157.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Three Heads of Women: One Asleep.
Etching, 1637. 143x96 mm; 5¾x3⅜ inches. Usticke’s first state (e) (of 3); New Hollstein’s first state (of 3). With thread margins or trimmed on the plate mark, with the entire subject preserved. A superb, richly-inked and early impression with strong contrasts, before any sign of wear, with the horizontal line lower center distinct and with the delicate vertical wiping scratches in the upper background.
Provenance: Christian Gottlieb Crusius (1717-1783), Dresden, ink stamp verso (Lugt 548). Bartsch 368; Biörklund 37-D; Hollstein (White and Boon) 368; New Hollstein 161.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Young Man in a Velvet Cap (Petrus Sylvius ?).
Etching, 1637. 96x83 mm; 3¾x3¼ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s second state (of 2), with the delicate second outline on the upper right hand side of the cap and most of the dotted shading on the sitter’s left cheek removed. A very good, early impression of this scarce etching, with strong contrasts. Bartsch 268; Biörklund 37-C; Hollstein (White and Boon) 268; New Hollstein 164.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Return of the Prodigal Son.
Etching, 1636. 158x136 mm; 6¼x5½ inches, small margins. Usticke’s first state (e-i) (of 4), with the toe of the boot at the far right still complete and before any wear in the dark shadows to the right of the son’s nose; New Hollstein’s second state (of 3). Partial Strasburg Lily watermark (Ash/Fletcher 36, which they date from the late 1600s through the first half of the 1700s, and note as the most prevalent watermark on the impressions of Rembrandt’s etchings they studied). A superb, dark impression, with very strong contrasts and no wear in the densely cross-hatched areas, and with the faint landscape and buildings in the left background distinct, and with crisp, partially inky upper left plate edges. Bartsch 91; Biörklund 36-D; Hollstein (White and Boon) 91; New Hollstein 159.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Abraham Caressing Isaac.
Etching, circa 1637. 116x87 mm; 4¾x3½ inches. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s third state (e) (of 5), before the Basan editions; White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s third state (of 4). Trimmed on the plate mark. A very good, dark and earlier impression with strong contrasts and before the coarse rework. Bartsch 33; Biörklund 37-2; Hollstein (White and Boon) 33; New Hollstein 165.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Abraham Casting out Hagar and Ishmael.
Etching and drypoint, 1637. 127x96 mm; 5x3¾ inches, thread margins. Usticke’s only state (e) (of l), with burr on the right side of Abraham’s turban and the delicate horizontal wiping scratches. A very good, early impression of this scarce etching, with all the details distinct and little to no sign of wear. Bartsch 30; Biörklund 37-A; Hollstein (White and Boon) 30; New Hollstein 166.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Joseph Telling his Dreams.
Etching, 1638. 111x80 mm; 4½x3¼ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s fourth state (of 4); Usticke’s fourth state (of 5); White and Boon’s third state (of 3); New Hollstein’s fifth state (of 6). A very good, dark and well-inked impression with strong contrasts. Bartsch 37; Biörklund 38-E; Hollstein (White and Boon) 37; New Hollstein 167.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Self Portrait in a Velvet Cap with Plume.
Etching, 1638. 136x105 mm; 5¼x4⅛ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s third state (of 3); Usticke’s third state (of 3); New Hollstein’s fourth state (of 4). Partial watermark with the letter P. A good, well-inked impression. Bartsch 20; Biörklund 38-B; Hollstein (White and Boon) 20; New Hollstein 170.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Jan Uytenbogaert, “The Goldweigher”.
Etching and drypoint, 1639. 254x205 mm; 10x8¼ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s fourth state (of 4); Usticke’s third state (of 3); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein third state (of 3), with the Captain William Baillie rework. Bunch of grapes watermark. A very good, well-inked, crisp and even impression with little to no sign of wear and with strong contrasts.
Uytenbogaert (1608-1680) was likely a long-standing acquaintance of Rembrandt’s. He was the Dutch national tax collector and a patron of the arts, whose country estate just outside Amsterdam was a quasi-salon and focal point for local artists and poets. Bartsch 281; Biörklund 39-D; Hollstein (White and Boon) 281; New Hollstein 172.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Death of the Virgin.
Etching and drypoint, 1639. 385x309 mm; 15¼x12¼ inches. Biörklund’s fourth state (of 4); Usticke’s fourth state (of 5); White and Boon’s third state (of 3); New Hollstein’s fourth state (of 5). Bunch of grapes watermark (Ash/Fletcher 21 B., C. and D., which they date from the mid-1700s, and cites on similar impressions of this subject in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the National Gallery, Washington, D.C., and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam). Trimmed inside the plate mark with most of the subject preserved. A very good, well-inked impression of this large etching with strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear. Bartsch 99; Biörklund 39-A; Hollstein (White and Boon) 99; New Hollstein 173.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Old Man Shading his Eyes with his Hand.
Etching and drypoint, circa 1639. 140x113 mm; 5½x4½ inches, narrow margins. Usticke’s first state (e) (of 5); New Hollstein’s first state (of 3). A very good, early impression of this scarce etching.
Provenance: Unidentified collector, inscription and indiscernible name in pencil verso. Bartsch 259; Biörklund 38-3; Hollstein (White and Boon) 259; New Hollstein 175.
Estimate
$12,000 – $18,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Artist Drawing from the Model (‘Het Beeldt van Pigmalion’).
Etching and drypoint, circa 1647. 228x184 mm; 9x7 1/2 inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s first state (of 2); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s third state (of 4). A superb, early impression, with no wear in the dark, densely cross-hatched areas, and still with traces of burr. Bartsch 192; Biörklund 47-2; Hollstein (White and Boon) 192; New Hollstein 176.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Old Woman in Profile (from Sheet of Studies, with a Woman Lying Ill in Bed).
Etching, circa 1639. 60x47 mm; 2½x2 inches. Usticke’s only state (e), with the figure very distinct. A superb, well-inked, dark impression with very strong contrasts.
We have found only approximately 15 other impressions of the complete composition at auction in the past 30 years. Bartsch 369; Biörklund 38-2; Hollstein (White and Boon) 369; New Hollstein 177.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Peasant in a High Cap, Standing Leaning on a Stick.
Etching, 1639. 82x46 mm; 3¼x1⅞ inches. Usticke’s only state (e), before the horizontal scratch below the man’s outstretched hand; New Hollstein’s second state (of 2). Trimmed on the plate mark. A very good, well-inked impression with strong contrasts. Bartsch 133; Biörklund 39-B; Hollstein (White and Boon) 133; New Hollstein 178.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Rembrandt van rijn
Old Man with a Divided Fur Cap.
Etching and drypoint, 1640. 151x137 mm; 6x5½ inches, wide (full ?) margins. Biörklund’s first state (of 3); Usticke’s first state (of 3); White and Boon’s first state (of 3); New Hollstein’s first state (of 2). Foolscap with a seven-pointed collar watermark (Ash/Fletcher 20, the watermark located in the center of the sheet, with deckled edges on all four sides). A superb, richly-inked, crisp and early impression with burr on the thumb of the right hand, on the mouth and nose, on the horizontal lines at the lower edge of the plate and on the lower right edge of the robe. Bartsch 265; Biörklund 40-A; Hollstein (White and Boon) 265; New Hollstein 182.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Beheading of St. John the Baptist.
Etching and drypoint, 1640. 125x103 mm; 5x4⅛ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s first state (of 3); Usticke’s first state (of 4); White and Boon’s first state (of 2); New Hollstein’s first state (of 3). A very good, early impression. Bartsch 92; Biörklund 40-B; Hollstein (White and Boon) 92; New Hollstein 183.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Beheading of St. John the Baptist.
Etching and drypoint, 1640. 125x103 mm; 5x4⅛ inches, small margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 3); Usticke’s third state (of 4); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s second state (of 3). A very good, well-inked, crisp impression with the foreground details and the background architectural elements still distinct.
Provenance: Orszagos Képtar, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 2000). Bartsch 92; Biörklund 40-B; Hollstein (White and Boon) 92; New Hollstein 183.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Rembrandt van rijn
The Presentation in the Temple: Oblong Print.
Etching and drypoint, circa 1640. 215x292 mm; 8½x11⅝ inches, narrow to thread margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 3); Usticke’s second state (of 6); White and Boon’s second state (of 3); New Hollstein’s third state (of 5), before the shading of the white spaces along the upper edge of the image and before the Basan rework. A very good, crisp, early impression with all the details distinct.
Provenance: Kurt Klemperer, Germany and Brasil, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 5268). Bartsch 49; Biörklund 40-1; Hollstein (White and Boon) 49; New Hollstein 184.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Baptism of the Eunuch.
Etching and drypoint, 1641. 180x211 mm; 7¼x8¼ inches. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (e) (of 4), before the Basan editions; White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein third state (of 4), with the long, accidental vertical scratch to the right of St. Philip’s head. Shield with “Paris” watermark (Ash/Fletcher 39 A). Trimmed on or just inside the plate mark. A very impression, richly-inked with strong contrasts, with all the details distinct and with traces of burr in the beard and on the feet of St. Philip. Bartsch 98; Biörklund 41-E; Hollstein (White and Boon) 98; New Hollstein 186.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Angel Departing from the Family of Tobias.
Etching and drypoint, 1641. 105x156 mm; 4x6¼ inches, small margins. Biörklund’s sixth state (of 6); Usticke’s fifth state (of 7); White and Boon’s fourth state (of 4); New Hollstein’s seventh state (of 9). A very good, well-inked impression with strong contrasts and crisp, partially inky plate edges. Bartsch 43; Biörklund 41-G; Hollstein (White and Boon) 43; New Hollstein 189.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Rembrandt van rijn
Three Oriental Figures (Jacob and Laban ?).
Etching and drypoint, 1641. 145x115 mm; 5¾x4½ inches. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (e) (of 2), with remnants of the delicate vertical scratches upper right; White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s second state (of 2). With thread margins or trimmed on the plate mark. A very good, well-inked impression with strong contrasts and before any wear in the heavily cross-hatched arch in the doorway.
Provenance: Johann Baptist Stiglmaier, Munich, with the collector’s name and inscribed “Strassburg” in pencil verso (Lugt 2314). Bartsch 118; Biörklund 41-F; Hollstein (White and Boon) 118; New Hollstein 190.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Rembrandt van rijn
A Hurdy-Gurdy Player Followed by Children at the Door of a House (“The Schoolmaster”).
Etching, 1641. 95x63 mm; 3¾x2½ inches, small margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (of 3); New Hollstein’s second state (of 4), with the added line on the lower part of the woman’s ear. A very, richly-inked and early impression with strong contrasts and before any wear in the densely cross-hatched areas.
Provenance: Raffaele Alianello, Andria, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 5k). Bartsch 128; Biörklund 41-N; Hollstein (White and Boon) 128; New Hollstein 191.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
A Hurdy-Gurdy Player Followed by Children at the Door of a House (“The Schoolmaster”).
Group of 4 progressive state etchings, 1641. Each 95x63 mm; 3¾x2½ inches, small margins. Two impressions (inked differently) in Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (of 3); New Hollstein’s third state (of 4); and two impressions (inked differently) in Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s third state (of 3); New Hollstein’s third state (of 4). Each a very good impression with strong contrasts. Bartsch 128; Biörklund 41-N; Hollstein (White and Boon) 128; New Hollstein 191.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Man Drawing from a Cast.
Etching, circa 1641. 97x66 mm; 3¾x2½ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s third state (of 3); Usticke’s third state (of 5); White and Boon’s third state (of 3); New Hollstein’s fourth state (of 6). A very good, dark and evenly-printed impression with strong contrasts, all the details distinct and little to no sign of wear.
Provenance: A. Zaleski, Austria, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 2671); unidentified collector, with a cardinal’s hat and palm frond ink stamp verso (Lugt 2763, he notes the mark might be related to the collector Franz Pokorny, Vienna, Lugt 788, as it appears next to Pokorny’s ink stamp on many Rembrandt etchings in public collections); unidentified collector, initials A. T. in a circle violet ink stamp verso (Lugt 183). Bartsch 130; Biörklund 41-4; Hollstein (White and Boon) 130; New Hollstein 192.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Card Player.
Etching, 1641. 91x83 mm; 3¾x3¼ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s first state (of 3); Usticke’s first state (of 4); White and Boon’s first state (of 2); New Hollstein’s first state (of 5), with the irregular strip of unworked plate along the upper plate edge. A superb, well-inked, crisp and early impression with strong contrasts and no sign of wear. Bartsch 136; Biörklund 41-M; Hollstein (White and Boon) 136; New Hollstein 193.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Man at a Desk Wearing a Cross and Chain.
Etching and drypoint, 1641. 152x104 mm; 6x4⅛ inches. Biörklund’s second state (of 4); Usticke’s second state (of 3); White and Boon’s second state (of 4); New Hollstein’s second state (of 5). With thread margins or trimmed on the plate mark, with the complete lower margin with the signature preserved. A very good, dark and early impression of this scarce etching. Bartsch 261; Biörklund 41-L; Hollstein (White and Boon) 261; New Hollstein 194.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Cornelis Claesz Anslo, Preacher.
Etching and drypoint, 1641. 190x160 mm; 7½x6¼ inches, wide margins. Biörklund’s fourth state (of 4); Usticke’s third state (of 6); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s third state (of 5), probably from the reworked plate by Captain William Baillie. A very good impression of this scarce portrait with all the fine lines in the background and the dense cross-hatching distinct, with strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear.
Cornelis Claesz Anslo (1592-1646) was a prominent Mennonite preacher in Amsterdam who was portrayed by Rembrandt several times in paintings, drawings and this etching. He was the fourth son of the Norwegian born Dutch cloth merchant Claes Claesz Anslo, whose other sons all entered the family cloth business. Anslo’s father founded a hofje (or courtyard with almshouses) in Amsterdam that the Anslo brothers managed during their lifetime. The hofje was partially demolished and rebuilt on the original location, today’s Eglantierstaat 52, nearby the Anne Frank house and a short walk across the city from Rembrandt’s house. Bartsch 271; Biörklund 41-J; Hollstein (White and Boon) 271; New Hollstein 197.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Christ Crucified between the Two Thieves: An Oval Plate.
Etching and drypoint, circa 1641. 136x102 mm; 5½x4⅛ inches, small margins. Biörklund’s first state (of 2); Usticke’s first state (of 3); White and Boon’s first state (of 2); New Hollstein’s second state (of 3), with the two dots upper center but before the additional posthumous mezzotint reworking of the plate. A very good, richly-inked impression with partially inky, uncleaned plate edges and with burr in the shadows. Bartsch 79; Biörklund 41-2; Hollstein (White and Boon) 79; New Hollstein 196.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Raising of Lazarus: Small Plate.
Etching and drypoint, 1642. 151x115 mm; 6x4½ inches, small margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2), though with the several delicate, parallel vertical lines behind Lazarus’s head distinct; Usticke’s second state (of 3); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s second state (of 2). A very good, crisp impression with strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear. Bartsch 72; Biörklund 42-B; Hollstein (White and Boon) 72; New Hollstein 206.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Self Portrait in a Flat Cap and Embroidered Dress.
Etching, circa 1642. 93x62 mm; 3¾x2½ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (e) (of 3); New Hollstein’s second state (of 3). A superb, dark, evenly-printed impression with strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear, with the dark shading on the face to the left of the nose undiminished and with crisp, partially inky plate edges. Bartsch 26; Biörklund 31-8; Hollstein (White and Boon) 26; New Hollstein 210.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Rembrandt van rijn
St. Jerome in a Dark Chamber.
Etching, engraving and drypoint, 1642. 149x170 mm; 5⅞x6¾ inches, narrow to thread margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (of 5); New Hollstein’s second state (of 3), with the window frames and the hanging string in the right window still complete. A very good, well-inked impression, with all the subtle tonal variations and elements of the composition still showing clearly and with the Saint minimally highlighted by the rays streaming through the window panes. Bartsch 105; Biörklund 42-E; Hollstein (White and Boon) 105; New Hollstein 212.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Student at a Table by Candlelight.
Etching, circa 1642. 148x135 mm; 5½x5⅜ inches, narrow margins. Usticke’s first state (e-i) (of 3), before the outline of the right edge of the candle flame and before the mezzotint additions; New Hollstein’s first state (of 2). A very good, dark and richly-inked impression with all the subtle tonal variations and shaded forms distinct, consistent with the earliest impressions. Bartsch 148; Biörklund 42-6; Hollstein (White and Boon) 148; New Hollstein 213.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Hog.
Etching and drypoint, 1643. 141x171 mm; 5¾x6¾ inches. Biörklund’s first state (of 3); Usticke’s first state (of 3); White and Boon’s first state (of 2); New Hollstein’s first state (of 3). Partial foolscap watermark. Trimmed on or just inside the plate mark. A superb, dark, early impression of this scarce etching, with burr on the hog’s belly and with traces of the sulphur tint lower left and lower center. Bartsch 157; Biörklund 43-A; Hollstein (White and Boon) 157; New Hollstein 215.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Rest on the Flight into Egypt: A Night Piece.
Etching and drypoint, circa 1644. 93x60 mm; 3¾x2½ inches, small margins. Biörklund’s fourth state (of 4); Usticke’s fifth state (of 8); White and Boon’s fourth state (of 4); New Hollstein’s seventh state (of 9). A very good, well-inked and crisp impression with strong contrasts and all the details distinct. Bartsch 57; Biörklund 44-2; Hollstein (White and Boon) 57; New Hollstein 216.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Abraham and Isaac.
Etching, 1645. 157x130 mm; 6¼x5¼ inches, narrow to thread margins. Biörklund’s first state (of 2); Usticke’s first state (of 3); New Hollstein’s first state (of 2), before the completion of the contour of Abraham’s right shoulder. Partial posthorn (?) watermark (Ash/Fletcher 31). A superb, dark and richly-inked impression with all the fine lines distinct and little to no sign of wear, with crisp, inky plate edges.
Provenance: John Charles Robinson, London, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 1433). Bartsch 34; Biörklund 45-D; Hollstein (White and Boon) 34; New Hollstein 224.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Beggar Woman Leaning on a Stick.
Etching, 1646. 82x65 mm; 3¼x2½ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (of 6); New Hollstein’s second state (of 5), before the posthumous rework of the plate. A very good, crisp, early impression with sharp, partially inky plate edges. Bartsch 170; Biörklund 46-A; Hollstein (White and Boon) 170; New Hollstein 229.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Rembrandt van rijn
Nude Man Seated and Another Standing with a Woman and a Baby.
Etching, circa 1646. 195x130 mm; 7⅝x5⅛ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s first state (of 4); Usticke’s first state (of 7); White and Boon’s first state (of 3); New Hollstein’s first state (of 8). Strasburg Lily watermark (Ash/Fletcher 36, they cite similar watermarks on early impressions of this subject in the Art Institute of Chicago and the Morgan Library & Museum, New York; Hinterding notes a similar watermark for first state impressions of this subject and dates the paper to circa 1646-48). A superb, dark, early impression of this scarce, early state, with strong contrasts, inky plate edges and no sign of wear, consistent with the earliest impressions of this subject.
Provenance: Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, with the ink stamp and duplicate impression ink stamp verso (Lugt 1233 and 1235); unidentified collector, with a cardinal’s hat and palm frond ink stamp verso (Lugt 2763, he notes the mark might be related to the collector Franz Pokorny, Vienna, Lugt 788, as it appears next to Pokorny’s ink stamp on many Rembrandt etchings in public collections). Bartsch 194; Biörklund 46-1; Hollstein (White and Boon) 194; New Hollstein 233.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Nude Man Seated and Another Standing with a Woman and a Baby.
Etching, circa 1646. 195x130 mm; 7⅝x5⅛ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 4); Usticke’s second state (of 7); White and Boon’s second state (of 3); New Hollstein’s third state (of 8). Partial Strasburg Lily watermark (Ash/Fletcher 36, they cite similar watermarks on early impressions of this subject in the Art Institute of Chicago and the Morgan Library & Museum, New York; Hinterding notes a similar watermark for first state impressions of this subject and dates the paper to circa 1646-48). A very good, dark, early impression with strong contrasts and crisp plate edges. Bartsch 194; Biörklund 46-1; Hollstein (White and Boon) 194; New Hollstein 233.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Nude Man Seated on the Ground with One Leg Extended.
Etching and engraving, 1646. 98x168 mm; 3⅞x6⅝ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s third state (of 4); New Hollstein’s second state (of 3). A very good, dark and well-inked impression with strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear. Bartsch 196; Biörklund 46-C; Hollstein (White and Boon) 196; New Hollstein 234.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Self Portrait Etching at a Window.
Etching and drypoint, 1648. 159x130 mm; 6¼x5¼ inches, small margins. Biörklund’s fifth state (of 5); Usticke’s sixth (of 8); White and Boon’s fifth state (of 5); New Hollstein’s sixth state (of 9). A very good, dark impression, with part of the landscape through the window still distinct. Bartsch 22; Biörklund 48-A; Hollstein (White and Boon) 22; New Hollstein 240.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Jews in the Synagogue.
Etching and drypoint, 1648. 73x130 mm; 2¾x5¼ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s third state (of 3); Usticke’s fourth state (e) (of 7); White and Boon’s third state (of 3); New Hollstein’s fourth state (of 9). A very good, dark and clear impression with strong contrasts and all the fine lines distinct and little to no sign of wear. Bartsch 126; Biörklund 48-D; Hollstein (White and Boon) 126; New Hollstein 242.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Jan Asselijn, Painter (“Krabbetje”).
Etching, engraving and drypoint, circa 1647. 190x170 mm; 7½x6¾ inches. Biörklund’s fourth state (of 4); Usticke’s fourth state (of 6); White and Boon’s fourth state (of 3); New Hollstein’s fourth state (of 4). Trimmed on the plate mark on three sides and inside the plate mark upper edge into the blank background, with the full composition preserved. A very good impression with strong contrasts.
This is Rembrandt’s (1606-1669) portrait of fellow artist and Dutch landscape painter Asselijn (circa 1614-1652), known as “Krabbetje.” Asselijn’s left hand was deformed (which Rembrandt has disquised, tucked into the artist’s hip) and during his stay in Rome fellow members of the Dutch painters’ association, “De Bentvueghels,” nicknamed him “krabbetje”–Dutch for “little crab.” Bartsch 277; Biörklund 47-1; Hollstein (White and Boon) 277; New Hollstein 236.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Landscape with a Cow Drinking.
Etching, circa 1650. 103x131 mm; 4¼x5¼ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 3), before the additional work on the building at the right; Usticke’s third state (of 6); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein third state (of 5). A very good, evenly-printed impression with strong contrasts, crisp plate edges and all the details distinct. Bartsch 237; Biörklund 50-1; Hollstein (White and Boon) 237; New Hollstein 251.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Bathers (“De Zwemmertjes”).
Etching, 1651. 107x138 mm; 4¼x5½ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s first state (of 2), before the circular corrosion spot upper center; Usticke’s second state (e) (of 3); White and Boon’s first state (of 2); New Hollstein’s second state (of 3), with the two small dots upper right but with no additional posthumous rework. A superb, dark, richly-inked and early impression with very strong contrasts and crisp, partially inky plate edges.
Provenance: Alcide Donnadieu, London, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 97). Bartsch 195; Biörklund 51-B; Hollstein (White and Boon) 195; New Hollstein 258.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Flight into Egypt: A Night Piece.
Etching and drypoint, 1651. 128x111 mm; 5x4⅜ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s fifth state (of 5); Usticke’s sixth state (of 9); White and Boon’s sixth state (of 6); New Hollstein ninth state (of 10). A very good, well-inked impression. Bartsch 53; Biörklund 51-E; Hollstein (White and Boon) 53; New Hollstein 262.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Rembrandt van rijn
The Star of Kings: A Night Piece.
Etching and drypoint, circa 1651. 94x142 mm; 3¾x5⅝ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s third state (of 7), with burr on the star and the column to the left of the star; New Hollstein’s third state (of 4). Partial indiscernible coat-of-arms (?) watermark. A very good, well-inked and dark impression with little to no sign of wear. Bartsch 113; Biörklund 51-I; Hollstein (White and Boon) 113; New Hollstein 263.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Rembrandt van rijn
Clement de Jonghe, Printseller.
Etching and drypoint, 1651. 208x161 mm; 8¼x6¼ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s sixth state (of 6); Usticke’s fifth state (of 9); White and Boon’s sixth state (of 6); New Hollstein’s eighth state (of 10), before the extensive reworking. A very good, crisp, dark and well-inked impression, with strong contrasts, and little to no sign of wear.
Clement de Jonghe (1624/25-1677) was among the most significant Amsterdam print and map dealers and publishers during the mid-17th century and would certainly have been associated with Rembrandt (1606-1669), though there is no indication, through letters or in the inventory drawn up after Clement de Jonghe’s death, that this was a commissioned portrait from Rembrandt. De Jonghe’s business prospered from at least around 1647 to 1679, run posthumously for several years following his death by his widow Jacomijntje Jacobs, until his stock was sold at auction. De Jonghe acquired at least 74 of Rembrandt’s original etched copper plates, probably during Rembrandt’s lifetime, and these were all sold in the contents of his estate auction. Bartsch 272; Biörklund 51-C; Hollstein (White and Boon) 272; New Hollstein 264.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Peasant Family on the Tramp.
Etching, circa 1652. 114x92 mm; 4½x3¾ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (of 4), with pentimenti of the head and hat at right distinct; White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s second state (of 3). A superb, dark, richly-inked and early impression with very strong contrasts and no sign of wear. Bartsch 131; Biörklund 52-3; Hollstein (White and Boon) 131; New Hollstein 266.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Rembrandt van rijn
David in Prayer.
Etching and drypoint, 1652. 143x94 mm; 5¾x3¾ inches, small margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 3); Usticke’s third state (of 3), with the horizontal scratch across David’s back; White and Boon’s second state (of 3); New Hollstein’s third state (of 3). A very good, dark and richly-inked impression with strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear. Bartsch 41; Biörklund 52-C; Hollstein (White and Boon) 41; New Hollstein 268.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Agony in the Garden.
Etching, circa 1652. 112x85 mm; 4½x3⅜ inches, thread margins. Usticke’s first state (of 2). New Hollstein’s second state (of 3), before the rework. A very good, evenly-printed impression with strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear. Bartsch 75; Biörklund 57-3; Hollstein (White and Boon) 75; New Hollstein 269.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
A Scholar in his Study (“Faust”).
Etching, engraving and drypoint, circa 1652. 213x163 mm; 8½x6½ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s fourth state (of 4); Usticke’s fourth state (of 7); White and Boon’s fourth state (of 4); New Hollstein’s sixth state (of 7). A very good, richly-inked impression, with traces of burr on the right shoulder and sleeve and in the folds on the lower left sleeve, with strong contrasts and no sign of wear.
Provenance: Victor-Amédée Faure, Paris, with this initials in ink, verso (Lugt 115). Bartsch 270; Biörklund 52-4; Hollstein (White and Boon) 270; New Hollstein 270.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Flight into Egypt: Crossing a Brook.
Etching, engraving and drypoint, 1654. 95x143 mm; 3¾x5¾ inches, narrow margins. Usticke’s second state (of 3); New Hollstein’s only state, before the scratches on the Virgin’s knee and lap and before the later 18th century Basan impressions. A superb, dark, richly-inked impression with strong contrasts and no sign of wear.
Provenance: Johan Peter Samuel Guildal, Copenhagen, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 1110a); his sale, V. Winkel and Magnussen, Copenhagen, June 4, 1931 (according to Lugt, Guildal’s sale included 107 fine Rembrandt etchings). Bartsch 55; Biörklund 54-D; Hollstein (White and Boon) 55; New Hollstein 277.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Virgin and Child with the Cat and Snake.
Etching, 1654. 96x146 mm; 3¾x5¾ inches, narrow to thread margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (of 4); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); White and Boon’s third state (of 4). Partial coat-of-arms watermark (Hinterding, “Arms Unidentified,” illustrated page 91). A very good, well-inked impression with strong contrasts. Bartsch 63; Biörklund 54-C; Hollstein (White and Boon) 63; New Hollstein 278.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Adoration of the Shepherds: with the Lamp.
Etching, circa 1654. 103x130 mm; 4⅛x5⅛ inches, small margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (of 3); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s third state (of 3). A very good, dark and well-inked impression with strong contrasts and no wear in the dark shadows above the cows at right. Bartsch 45; Biörklund 54-1; Hollstein (White and Boon) 45; New Hollstein 279.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Circumcision in the Stable.
Etching drypoint, 1654. 98x148 mm; 4x5⅞ inches, wide margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s third state (of 3); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s fifth state (of 5). A very good impression with strong contrasts.
Provenance: Albert van Loock, Brussels, with the purple ink stamp verso (Lugt 3751). Bartsch 47; Biörklund 54-B; Hollstein (White and Boon) 47; New Hollstein 280.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Christ Seated Disputing with the Doctors.
Etching and drypoint, 1654. 93x143 mm; 3⅝x5⅝ inches, narrow margins. Usticke’s second state (e) (of 2). A very good, well-inked, crisp impression with strong contrasts and no sign of wear.
Provenance: Giuseppe Storck, Milan, with the inscription and date 1797 in ink verso (Lugt 2319). Bartsch 64; Biörklund 54-E; Hollstein (White and Boon) 64; New Hollstein 281.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Ringball Player (‘Het Klosbaantje’).
Etching, 1654. 97x144 mm; 3¾x5¾ inches, small margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (e) (of 3), with the rust spots to the left and above the player; White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s second state (of 2). A very good, dark and richly-inked impression. Bartsch 125; Biörklund 54-A; Hollstein (White and Boon) 125; New Hollstein 282.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Descent from the Cross by Torchlight.
Etching and drypoint, 1654. 210x163 mm; 8¼x6½ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (of 3); New Hollstein’s third state (of 4). A very good, dark impression, before the significant wear in the dark shadows in the upper portion of the composition. Bartsch 83; Biörklund 54-G; Hollstein (White and Boon) 83; New Hollstein 286.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Pieter Haaringh (“Young Haaringh”).
Etching and drypoint, 1655. 122x107 mm; 4¾x4¼ inches, small margins. Biörklund’s fifth state (of 5); Usticke’s fourth state (of 5); White and Boon’s fifth state (of 5); New Hollstein’s fourth state (of 6). A very good, dark impression. Bartsch 275; Biörklund 55-E; Hollstein (White and Boon) 275; New Hollstein 292.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Rembrandt van rijn
Jan Lutma, Goldsmith.
Etching, engraving and drypoint, 1656. 196x150 mm; 7¾x6 inches. Biörklund’s third state (of 3); Usticke’s third state (of 6); White and Boon’s third state (of 3); New Hollstein’s fourth state (of 5). With thread margins or trimmed on the plate mark. A very good, richly-inked, dark impression with strong contrasts. Bartsch 276; Biörklund 56-C; Hollstein (White and Boon) 276; New Hollstein 293.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Adoration of the Shepherds: A Night Piece.
Etching and drypoint, circa 1657. 152x197 mm; 6x7¾ inches. Biörklund’s sixth state (of 8); Usticke’s sixth state (of 10), before the Basan rework; White and Boon’s sixth state (of 8); New Hollstein eighth state (of 11). Partial proprietary watermark with the date 17– (?). With thread margins or trimmed on the plate mark. A superb, dark and richly-inked impression with strong contrasts and traces of burr. Bartsch 46; Biörklund 52-1; Hollstein (White and Boon) 46; New Hollstein 300.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Abraham Francen, Apothecary.
Etching, circa 1657. 156x208 mm; 6¼x8¼ inches, small margins. Biörklund’s tenth state (of 10), with the horizontal parallel shading lines on the tree tops through the window, however with the slipped stroke on the left cheek from the eighth state still distinct; Usticke’s seventh state (of 9); White and Boon’s tenth state (of 10); New Hollstein’s tenth state (of 12). A very good, dark and richly-inked impression, with the landscape through the window distinct.
Francen (1612-after 1678) was a close friend of Rembrandt (1606-1669) and a lifelong resident of Amsterdam (though records of the various addresses in the city where he lived indicate that he was not a particularly well-to-do collector). He was a passionate connoisseur of art, which Rembrandt alludes to with the Crucifixion triptych and the landscape painting on the wall of Francen’s study, as well as the Taoist sculpture on the table, and in this collecting eclecticism he and Rembrandt surely had a kinship.
Francen testified for Rembrandt and helped support him through his financial difficulties in the 1650s and 1660s; he also acted as a sort of guardian for Rembrandt’s only child (of four) to survive into adulthood, Titus (1641-1668). Rembrandt likely made this etched portrait of Francen out of friendship rather than as a paid commission. Bartsch 273; Biörklund 57-2; Hollstein (White and Boon) 273; New Hollstein 301.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Christ and the Woman of Samaria: An Arched Print.
Etching and drypoint, 1657. 125x160 mm; 5x6¼ inches, small margins. Biörklund’s third state (of 3); Usticke’s fourth state (of 5), with the horizontal line across the spire upper right distinct; White and Boon’s third state (of 3); New Hollstein’s fourth state (of 5). A very good, richly-inked impression with strong contrasts and traces of burr on the woman and the figure group directly behind her.
Provenance: Albert van Loock, Brussels, with the purple ink stamp verso (Lugt 3751). Bartsch 70; Biörklund 57-B; Hollstein (White and Boon) 70; New Hollstein 302.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Rembrandt van rijn
Lieven Willemsz van Coppenol, Writing Master: The Larger Plate.
Etching, engraving and drypoint, circa 1658. 160x136 mm; 6¼x5¼ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s sixth state (of 6); Usticke’s ninth state (of 11; White and Boon’s sixth state (of 6); New Hollstein’s eighth state (of 9), after the reduction of the plate. A very good, crisp and well-inked impression with all the details distinct.
Provenance: Unidentified collector, the initials H. P. in a circle violet ink stamp verso (not in Lugt). Bartsch 283; Biörklund 58-F; Hollstein (White and Boon) 283; New Hollstein 306.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Rembrandt van rijn
Reclining Female Nude (“La Negresse Couché”).
Etching, drypoint and engraving, 1658. 82x157 mm; 3¼x6¼ inches, narrow to thread margins. Biörklund’s third state (of 3); Usticke’s third state (e) (of 5); White and Boon’s third state (of 3); New Hollstein’s fourth state (of 6). A very good, richly-inked and dark impression, the woman’s figure with volume and depth and little to no sign of wear. Bartsch 205; Biörklund 58-E; Hollstein (White and Boon) 205; New Hollstein 308.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Woman Bathing her Feet at a Brook.
Etching and drypoint, 1658. 162x81 mm; 6½x3¼ inches, small margins. Usticke’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s second state (of 2). Partial watermark with the letter P. A very good, dark and richly-inked impression with strong contrasts and partially inky plate edges. Bartsch 200; Biörklund 58-D; Hollstein (White and Boon) 200; New Hollstein 309.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Peter and John Healing the Cripple at the Gate of the Temple.
Etching, engraving and drypoint, 1659. 182x216 mm; 7¼x8½ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s fourth state (of 4); Usticke’s fourth state (e) (of 6); White and Boon’s fourth state (of 4); New Hollstein’s fifth state (of 6). Proprietary watermark (Ash/Fletcher 39 A. D., which they note as the name “Fliamler (?)” as a counter mark to a grapes watermark, from 1777, and cite on another impression of this subject in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam). A very good, dark and richly-inked impression with traces of burr on the hats of the two standing men at the far left and scattered throughout the crowd in the right background.
Provenance: Unidentified collection, the initials F. M. W. ink stamp verso (not in Lugt). Bartsch 94; Biörklund 59-A; Hollstein (White and Boon) 94; New Hollstein 312.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Jan Antonides van der Linden.
Etching, engraving and drypoint, 1665. 173x106 mm; 6⅞x4¼ inches, small margins. Biörklund’s fifth state (of 6); Usticke’s sixth state (of 7); White and Boon’s fourth state (of 5); New Hollstein’s fifth state (of 7). A very good, richly-inked and early impression, with the blank lower margin intact, with strong contrasts and no sign of wear.
Rembrandt’s (1606-1669) last documented etching, commissioned on December 22, 1664 as a frontispiece for an edition of Hippocrates edited by the recently deceased van der Linden (1609-1664), and given two weeks by the Leiden publishers Daniel and Abraham van Gaasbeeck to complete the portrait. Bartsch 264; Biörklund 65-1; Hollstein (White and Boon) 264; New Hollstein 314.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Old Master Prints, Section II, Various Collectors
Rembrandt van rijn
Jan Cornelis Sylvius, Preacher.
Etching, drypoint and engraving, 1623. 166x142 mm; 6⅝x5⅝ inches, small margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (of 3); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s second state (of 3). A very good, dark, richly-inked impression with strong contrasts, with the acid spots to the left of the sitter’s nose and with all the details distinct.
Sylvius (1563/64-1638) was a learned Mennonite preacher, related to Rembrandt’s (1606-1669) wife Saskia van Uylenburgh, who Rembrandt was courting when this portrait was done (they married in 1634), and was the godfather of their first child, their son Rumbartus (who died just two months after his birth in 1635). Having served as a minister for the Dutch Reformed Church in several Frisian communities, he was called to Sloten near Amsterdam and the Gasthuiskerk in the city itself in 1610, and after 1622 was employed at the Oude Kerk. Rembrandt made another, posthumous portrait etching of Sylvius in 1646 (see Bartsch 280).
Provenance: Christian Gottlieb Crusius, Dresden, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 548). Bartsch 266; Biörklund 33-H; Hollstein (White and Boon) 266; New Hollstein 124.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Circumcision: Small Plate.
Etching and drypoint, circa 1630. 90x65 mm; 3¾x2¾ inches, thread margins. Usticke’s only state (e) (of l), with burr on the child’s mouth, arms and head. A superb, crisp impression of this very scarce, early etching with all the fine lines distinct and no sign of wear, consistent with the earliest impressions of this subject.
According to Usticke, “Fine impressions very rare.” Bartsch 48; Biörklund 30-8; Hollstein (White and Boon) 48; New Hollstein 55.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Self Portrait with Cap Pulled Forward.
Etching and drypoint, circa 1630. 51x42 mm; 2x1¾ inches. Biörklund’s fifth state (of 5), after the reduction of the plate; Usticke’s seventh state (of 7); White and Boon’s fifth state (of 5); New Hollstein’s ninth state (of 10). With thread margins or trimmed on the plate mark. A very good impression of this extremely scarce etching with strong contrasts.
According to Usticke, “An extremely rare, small self portrait, RRR+” (Usticke illustrates an impression in reverse, which is evidently either a counter proof from the original plate or the reverse copy he notes in his catalogue).
We have found only 15 other impressions at auction in the past 30 years. Bartsch 319; Biörklund 31-10; Hollstein (White and Boon) 319; New Hollstein 71.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Bust of a Man Wearing a High Cap, Three-Quarters Right (The Artist’s Father ?).
Etching, 1630. 105x86 mm; 4¼x3½ inches, thread. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s fifth state (of 7); New Hollstein’s sixth state (of 6). A very good, dark impression with strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear. Bartsch 321; Biörklund 30-F; Hollstein (White and Boon) 321; New Hollstein 57.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Man in Coat and Fur Cap Leaning against a Bank.
Etching, circa 1630. 111x77 mm; 4⅜x3⅛ inches, narrow to thread margins. Biörklund’s third state (of 3); Usticke’s third state (e) (of 3), an early impression in this state with the artist’s initials upper right distinct; White and Boon’s third state (of 3); New Hollstein’s third state (of 3). A superb, dark and richly-inked impression with very strong contrasts, crisp plate edges and no sign of wear. Bartsch 151; Biörklund 30-6; Hollstein (White and Boon) 151; New Hollstein 48.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Beggar with a Wooden Leg.
Etching, circa 1630. 114x66 mm; 4½x2¾ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (of 3); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s third state (of 4), with the two small dots in the upper right corner and before the heavy rebiting of the plate. A very good, crisp and well-inked impression with strong contrasts and inky plate edges. Bartsch 179; Biörklund 30-4; Hollstein (White and Boon) 179; New Hollstein 49.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Rat Catcher.
Etching and drypoint, 1632. 141x127 mm; 5¾x5¼ inches, narrow to thread margins. Biörklund’s third state (of 3); Usticke’s second state (of 2); White and Boon’s third state (of 3); New Hollstein’s third state (of 3), with the parallel horizontal shading behind the rat catcher’s hat and neck. A very good, dark impression of this scarce etching, with crisp, partially inky plate edges and strong contrasts. Bartsch 121; Biörklund 32-C; Hollstein (White and Boon) 121; New Hollstein 111.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Jupiter and Antiope: Smaller Plate.
Etching and engraving, circa 1631. 85x113 mm; 3⅜x4½ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s second state (e) (of 2); New Hollstein’s second state (of 2). A very good impression of this extremely scarce etching, with some burr under the left breast and with strong contrasts.
This is the smaller and earlier version of Rembrandt’s (1606-1669) two treatments of this subject, made at the beginning of his printmaking career. The larger and second version dates from 1659, toward the end of Rembrandt’s illustrious career (Bartsch 203). Both versions almost certainly derive from Annibale Carracci’s Jupiter and Antiope, engraving, 1592 (Bartsch 17). Bartsch 204; Biörklund 31-6; Hollstein (White and Boon) 204; New Hollstein 78.
Estimate
$20,000 – $30,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Self Portrait in a Cap and Scarf with the Face Dark: Bust.
Etching, 1633. 132x103 mm; 5¼x4 inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s third state (of 3); Usticke’s fourth state (of 5); New Hollstein’s fourth state (of 5), before the extensive reworking of the face. A very good, dark and well-inked impression.
Rembrandt (1606-1669) etched some 30 self-portraits, with 27 singular images of himself and several others of himself in different guises or grouped with other portrait studies. This self-portrait, created at the age of 27, just two years after he had moved to Amsterdam from Leyden to begin to establish himself as a successful independent artist, and months before he married Saskia van Uylenburgh, is among Rembrandt’s most introspective self-renderings. The dark shading covering much of his face (which rapidly disappears in later impressions), the deep-set eyes and his quiet, hunched pose lend an almost shy, reserved appearance, which is markedly different from the proud, expressive, frontal poses of his self-portraits he made from the mid-to-late-1630s. Bartsch 17; Biörklund 33-G; Hollstein (White and Boon) 17; New Hollstein 120.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Self Portrait with Plumed Cap and Lowered Sabre.
Etching and engraving, 1634. 132x107 mm; 5¼x4¼ inches (oval), wide margins. Biörklund’s third state (of 3); Usticke’s third state (of 4); White and Boon’s third state (of 3); New Hollstein’s third state (of 3). Foolscap with a five-pointed collar watermark (Ash/Fletcher 19; Hinterding cites impressions of this subject with the same watermark dating from the 1640s and 1650s). A superb, richly-inked and early impression with very strong contrasts.
Provenance: Frederik Carel Theodoor van Isendoorn à Blois, Vaassen en Gueldre, with the ink stamp on the early mount (Lugt 1407). Bartsch 23; Biörklund 34-B; Hollstein (White and Boon) 23; New Hollstein 135.
Estimate
$25,000 – $35,000
Rembrandt van rijn
A Peasant Calling Out: ‘Tis Vinnich Hout’; A Peasant Replying ‘Dats Niet’.
Two etchings, 1634. Both approximately 110x40 mm; 4⅜x1⅝ inches. Trimmed on or just inside the plate marks. Superb, dark and richly-inked impressions of these extremely scarce etchings, with very strong contrasts and no sign of wear.
Loosely translated, the peasant on the left says, “Damned cold” and the peasant on the right replies, “Call that cold?” This exchange is a unique example of the only true companion pieces among Rembrandt’s œuvre.
According to Usticke, “Very scarce (RR).” We have found only five other pairs of these etchings at auction in the past 30 years.
Provenance: Unidentified collector, initial K ink stamp, versos (Lugt 4762). Bartsch 177; Biörklund 34-E; Hollstein (White and Boon) 177; New Hollstein 131 and 132.
Estimate
$20,000 – $30,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Quacksalver.
Etching, 1635. 74x36 mm; 3x1½ inches, narrow margins. A superb, richly-inked impression with strong contrasts, crisp, partially inky plate edges and with the delicate horizontal scratches distinct, consistent with the earliest impressions of this subject.
According to Usticke, “A very scarce, desirable little print (RR-).” We have found only fewer than 15 impressions at auction over the past 30 years. Bartsch 129; Biörklund 35-G; Hollstein (White and Boon) 129; New Hollstein 145.
Estimate
$12,000 – $18,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Jan Uytenbogaert, Preacher of the Remonstrants.
Etching and drypoint, 1635. 226x187 mm; 9x7½ inches, narrow to small margins. Biörklund’s sixth state (of 6), with the horizontal shading lines on the chest below the ruffled collar though with the uneven lower right edge of the octagonal border still uneven; Usticke’s fourth state (of 6); White and Boon’s sixth state (of 6); New Hollstein’s sixth state (of 9). A superb, richly-inked and early impression, with traces of burr in the curtain upper right and in the letter “f.” after the artist’s signature upper left, and with the delicate horizontal wiping scratches in the black border spaces lower center and upper right distinct. Bartsch 279; Biörklund 35-D; Hollstein (White and Boon) 279; New Hollstein 153.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Christ before Pilate: Large Plate.
Etching and engraving, 1635. 545x447 mm; 21½x17⅝ inches. Biörklund’s fourth state (of 5); Usticke’s third state (of 4); White and Boon’s fourth state (of 5); New Hollstein’s fourth state (of 5). Trimmed on or just inside the plate mark. A very good, dark, richly-inked impression of this large, scarce etching, with strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear in even the most densely cross-hatched areas and with all the details distinct.
There is also a grisaille painting of this subject by Rembrandt, dated 1634, in the National Gallery, London. Rembrandt included a self-portrait in this etching, one of his largest and most complex prints, in the upper center behind the group of men on the terrace to the left of Christ (the head with the plumed hat). Bartsch 77; Biörklund 35-K; Hollstein (White and Boon) 77; New Hollstein 155.
Estimate
$20,000 – $30,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Self Portrait with Saskia.
Etching, 1636. 105x94 mm; 4⅛x3¾ inches, wide margins. Biörklund’s third state (of 3); Usticke’s fourth state (of 6), though with the vertical scratch through Rembrandt’s left hand still distinct; White and Boon’s third state (of 3); New Hollstein’s third state (of 4). A very good, dark and evenly-printed impression with strong contrasts and with no sign of wear in the most densely cross-hatched areas.
Provenance: Robert McDonald, New York, with the original label on the frame back. Bartsch 19; Biörklund 36-B; Hollstein (White and Boon) 19; New Hollstein 158.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Death Appearing to a Wedded Couple from an Open Grave.
Etching and drypoint, 1639. 110x81 mm; 4⅜x3¼, small margins. Usticke’s only state (e), with strong contrasts and crisp, partially inky plate edges. A superb, well-inked and early impression of this extremely scarce etching with strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear.
We have found only 12 other impressions at auction in the past 30 years.
Provenance: James Reiss, London, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 1522); unidentified collector, ink stamp with initials and a leaf verso (not in Lugt). Bartsch 109; Biörklund 39-C; Hollstein (White and Boon) 109; New Hollstein 174.
Estimate
$15,000 – $20,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Death of the Virgin.
Etching and drypoint, 1639. 400x311 mm; 15¾x12¼ inches. Biörklund’s third state (of 4), before the fine vertical shading on the bedpost (which was probably added around 1760-85); Usticke’s third state (of 5); White and Boon’s second state (of 3); New Hollstein’s second state (of 5). Strasburg Lily watermark (Ash/Fletcher 36, which they cite on impressions of this subject at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; Hinterding cites various second state impressions with similar or identical watermarks, dating from the 1640s and 1650s). Trimmed on or just inside the plate mark. A very good, early, evenly-printed impression of this large etching with strong contrasts and little to no sign of wear. Bartsch 99; Biörklund 39-A; Hollstein (White and Boon) 99; New Hollstein 173.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Old Man Shading his Eyes with his Hand.
Etching and drypoint, circa 1639. 140x113 mm; 5½x4½ inches, narrow margins. Usticke’s first state (e) (of 5); New Hollstein’s first state (of 3). A superb, early impression of this very scarce print, with little to no wear, even in the sketch-like lines of the figure, and crisp, partially inky plate edges, consistent with the earliest impressions of this subject.
According to Hinterding, impressions in the first state, like the current work, were from Rembrandt’s lifetime. The copper plate for the subject was subsequently owned by Jean de Bary, the Amsterdam art dealer, during the mid-1700s, and later by J. Treble, a Berlin collector, around 1770, who had the plate reworked by the artist Georg Friedrich Schmidt (1712-1775), adding a complete background to Rembrandt’s work. Bartsch 259; Biörklund 38-3; Hollstein (White and Boon) 259; New Hollstein 175.
Estimate
$12,000 – $18,000
Rembrandt van rijn
St. Jerome in a Dark Chamber.
Etching, engraving and drypoint, 1642. 149x170 mm; 5⅞x6¾ inches. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s third state (of 5); New Hollstein’s third state (of 3), with the bars of the right window pane partially missing and the oval “string” in the window incomplete. Trimmed on the plate mark. A very good, dark and luminous impression, with all the subtle tonal variations and elements of the composition distinct and with the Saint highlighted by selectively wiping the ink on the plate to accentuate the rays streaming through the window panes.
Provenance: Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, ink stamp and duplicate impression ink stamp (Lugt 1606 and 2398, verso); Adam Gottlieb Thierman, Berlin, with the ink stamp (Lugt 2434, verso). Bartsch 105; Biörklund 42-E; Hollstein (White and Boon) 105; New Hollstein 212.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Christ Receiving the Children and Healing the Sick (The Hundred Guilder Print).
Etching, engraving and drypoint, circa 1648. 279x388 mm; 11⅛x15¼ inches, small margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2), with the diagonals on the back and neck of the ass at the far right but before the Baillie rework; Usticke’s third state (of 5); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein second state (of 3). Strasburg Lily with the countermark IHS watermark (Ash/Fletcher 36 I. c., which they date to around 1644; there is an identical watermark on the impression of this subject in the Art Institute of Chicago; Hinterding notes similar watermarks on other second state impressions of this subject). A very good, well-inked impression, with burr on the back of the woman holding the baby before Christ’s outstretched right arm, on the seated woman and kneeling figure with back turned at Christ’s feet and throughout the figures to the right of Christ and on the stones in the arch at the far right.
Provenance: Johann Carl Dietrich Hebich, Hamburg, with the ink stamp (Lugt 1250, verso); his estate auction, Gutekunst, Stuttgart, November 15, 1880 (Hebich’s estate auction contained more than 400 etchings by Rembrandt). Bartsch 74; Biörklund 49-1; Hollstein (White and Boon) 74; New Hollstein 239.
Estimate
$40,000 – $60,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Nude Man Seated on the Ground with One Leg Extended.
Etching and engraving, 1646. 98x168 mm; 3⅞x6⅝ inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 2); Usticke’s third state (e) (of 4); New Hollstein’s second state (of 3). A superb, crisp, dark impression with strong contrasts and no sign of wear. Bartsch 196; Biörklund 46-C; Hollstein (White and Boon) 196; New Hollstein 234.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Jews in the Synagogue.
Etching and drypoint, 1648. 73x130 mm; 2¾x5¼ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 3); Usticke’s second state (of 7); White and Boon’s second state (of 3); New Hollstein’s second state (of 9). A very good, early impression with strong contrasts and all the details distinct, before the posthumous rework of the plate. Bartsch 126; Biörklund 48-D; Hollstein (White and Boon) 126; New Hollstein 242.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Landscape with a Cow Drinking.
Etching and drypoint, circa 1650. 103x131 mm; 4¼x5¼ inches, small margins. Biörklund’s third state; Usticke’s fourth state (of 6); White and Boon’s second state (of 2); New Hollstein’s fifth state (of 5). A very good, dark and evenly-printed impression with strong contrasts, crisp, partially inky plate edges and all the details distinct, including the lightly-etched distant landscape formations. Bartsch 237; Biörklund 50-1; Hollstein (White and Boon) 237; New Hollstein 251.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Flight into Egypt: A Night Piece.
Etching and drypoint, 1651. 128x111 mm; 5x4⅜ inches, thread margins. Biörklund’s fourth state (of 5), before the additional shading on Joseph’s right hand; Usticke’s fourth state (of 9); White and Boon’s fifth state (of 6); New Hollstein sixth state (of 10). Partial lower part of a coat-of-arms or shield watermark. A superb, dark, richly-inked impression, before the corrosion to the copper plate and resultant spotting of the image. Bartsch 53; Biörklund 51-E; Hollstein (White and Boon) 53; New Hollstein 262.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Rembrandt van rijn
Christ Disputing with the Doctors: a Sketch.
Etching and drypoint, 1652. 125x216 mm; 5x8 1/2 inches, narrow margins. Biörklund’s second state (of 3), with the rust spots along the upper edge of the plate; Usticke’s second state (of 3); White and Boon’s second state (of 3); New Hollstein’s first state (of 2). Proprietary name “Octuier” watermark (Ash/Fletcher 39 B a; they note the same watermark is on another impression of this subject in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). A superb, early impression with strong contrasts.
Provenance: Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, with the ink stamp and duplicate impression ink stamp verso (Lugt 3a and 5069). Bartsch 65; Biörklund 52-B; Hollstein (White and Boon) 65; New Hollstein 267.
Estimate
$6,000 – $9,000
Rembrandt van rijn
The Agony in the Garden.
Etching and drypoint, circa 1652. 112x85 mm; 4½x3⅜ inches, narrow margins. Usticke’s first state (of 2); New Hollstein’s first state (of 3), before the two dots in the plate upper right and the posthumous rework of the plate. A superb, richly-inked, early impression with strong contrasts, with little to no sign of wear and with traces of burr in the dark shadows, particularly lower center. The lower part (three balls) of a foolscap watermark (Ash/Fletcher 19 and 20; they cite impressions of the same subject on paper with a Foolscap with a five-pointed collar watermark in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, and on paper with a Foolscap with a seven-pointed collar watermark in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, and the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).
Provenance: Lucien Goldschmidt, Inc., New York, with a copy of the original receipt; private collection, New Jersey. Bartsch 75; Biörklund 57-3; Hollstein (White and Boon) 75; New Hollstein 269.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Ferdinand bol
The Sacrifice of Abraham.
Etching, 1638-40. 403x287 mm; 16x11½ inches. Second state (of 2). Trimmed on the plate mark and along the arched upper edge of the image. A superb, richly-inked and early impression of this extremely scarce etching.
Bol (1616-1680) was born in Dordrecht and was first an apprentice of Jacob Cuyp before moving to Amsterdam and continuing his training with Rembrandt van Rijn. Both Bol and Rembrandt, who made an etching of this subject later in his career (1655), were certainly aware of the oil painting of Abraham’s scarifice by Pieter Lastman, Rembrandt’s mentor, from 1635. They both drew from the melodramatic treatment of the subject in the painting–Abraham with knife in hand intecepted by the angel just prior to sacrificing his son Isaac. Hollstein 1.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Jan lievens
Head of a Bearded Man.
Etching, circa 1630-40. 81x70 mm; 3¼x3 inches. Second state (of 2), with the address of Wyngaerde. Trimmed on the plate mark. A very good, well-inked impression of this extremely scarce etching. Hollstein 59.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Cornelis visscher
The Large Cat.
Etching and engraving, circa 1657. 145x188 mm; 5¾x7½ inches, small margins. Second state (of 2). A very good, dark and well-inked impression with strong contrasts.
Widely-collected for his detailed engraved portraits of prominent figures of his day, Visscher’s (1629-1658) skill as a printmaker is evident in this image which captures the essence of a resting cat, its slumber not distracted by the cunning mouse in the background. Hollstein 42.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Claude mellan
Veronica’s Veil.
Engraving, 1649. 430x30 mm; 17x12½ inches, wide margins. Second state (of 2). A very good, dark and well-inked impression with strong contrasts.
Mellan’s (1598-1688) tour-de-force, achieved by one continuous engraved circular line. LeBlanc 33.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Stefano della bella
Diversi Capricci.
Complete set of 24 etchings, 1648. Each approximately 88x100 mm; 3½x4 inches, thread margins. Each in the third or fourth state (of 4), with the address of the publisher Langlois. Very good, richly-inked impressions. De Vesme 128-151.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Stefano della bella
The Five Deaths.
Set of 5 etchings, circa 1648. Each approximately 185x150 mm; 7½x6 inches, narrow margins. Each in the third state (of 3) or fourth state (of 4), with the address of the publisher Vincent. Two sheets with a Rosary watermark (Heawood 228, which he dates to the mid-1600s). Superb, richly-inked impressions of this scarce set. DeVesme 87-91.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Antonio da canal, il canaletto
Al Dolo.
Etching, circa 1740. 298x427 mm; 11¾x17 inches, narrow margins. Third state (of 3). A very good, well-inked impression with strong contrasts. DeVesme 4; Bromberg 4.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Antonio da canal, il canaletto
Prà della Valle.
Etching, circa 1740. 299x428 mm; 11¾x17 inches, wide margins. First state (of 3). Counter mark with the letters AS to a triple crescent watermark (Bromberg 35, which she notes for first state impressions and cites other impressions with the same counter mark and watermark in the British Museum, London). A superb, richly-inked impression with very strong contrasts and crisp, partially inky plate edges, consistent with the earliest impressions of this subject.
Prato della Valle (or Prà della Valle) is a major central square in Padova. It is the biggest piazza in Italy, and one of the largest in Europe. Today, the square is a large space with a green island at the center, l’Isola Memmia, surrounded by a small canal bordered by two rings of statues.
Canaletto’s (1697-1768) monumental oil on canvas, The Prà della Valle in Padua, 1741-1746, which relates to the current etching, is now the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan. Bromberg 8.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Giovanni d. tiepolo
Il Battesimo di Gesú Cristo.
Etching, circa 1740. 238x306 mm; 9½x12¼ inches, wide margins. Second state (of 3), with the inscription lower margin and before the number upper right. A very good, early impression of this scarce etching, with strong contrasts and no sign of wear. DeVesme 32; Rizzi 109.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Giovanni d. tiepolo
Maria e Giuseppe, che tiene il Bambino, procedono scortati da un angelo.
Etching, 1753. 185x245 mm; 7⅜x9¾ inches, wide. From Fuga in Egitto. A superb, dark, richly-inked impression with very strong contrasts, crisp plate edges and no sign of wear. DeVesme 12; Rizzi 78.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Giovanni b. piranesi
The Smoking Fire.
Etching, engraving, sulphur tint or open bite and burnishing 1749-50. 549x403 mm; 21¾x16 inches, full margins. Sixth state (of 7); Robison’s second edition, fourth issue through early printings of fifth edition, printed from the mid-1770s to circa 1835. Fleur-de-lys in a double circle watermark. From Carceri d’Invenzione. A brilliant, richly-inked impression, with very strong contrasts and no sign of wear. Robison 32.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Giovanni b. piranesi
Prisoners on a Projecting Platform.
Etching, engraving and burnishing, 1749-50. 417x553 mm; 16½x22⅞ inches, full margins. Second state (of 6); Robison’s second edition, first issue, printed around 1761. From Carceri d’Invenzione. A superb, early, richly-inked and dark impression. Robison 36.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Giovanni b. piranesi
The Man on the Rack.
Etching and engraving, 1749-50. 571x420 mm; 22½x16¾ inches, full margins. Fourth state (of 6); Robison’s second edition, third issue, printed from the mid-1760s to the early 1770s. Fleur-de-lys in a double circle watermark. From Carceri d’Invenzione. A brilliant, richly-inked and early impression, with very strong contrasts and no sign of wear. Robison 43.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Giovanni b. piranesi
Veduta del Ponte e Castello Sant’Angelo.
Etching, 1754. 383x585 mm; 15¼x23 inches, wide margins. Fourth state (of 6), with the price erased. From Vedute di Roma. A superb, richly-inked impression with strong contrasts and all the details distinct.
The Vedute di Roma is a series of 134 etchings of famous Roman buildings, ruins and monuments created by Piranesi (1720-1778) over nearly three decades (circa 1748-circa 1777), and is among the most ambitious and successful printmaking productions of all time. Hind 29.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Giovanni b. piranesi
Veduta dell’Anfiteatro Flavio, detto il Colosseo.
Etching, 1757. 440x697 mm; 17¼x27½ inches, small to narrow margins. Second state (of 4). From Vedute di Roma. A very good, dark and richly-inked impression with strong contrasts. Hind 57.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Giovanni b. piranesi
Veduta del Mausoleo d’Elio Adriano (ora chiamato Castello S. Angelo).
Etching, 1754. 440x560 mm; 17⅛x21⅞ inches, wide margins. Second state (of 4). From Vedute di Roma. A brilliant, richly-inked impression with very strong contrasts, all the details distinct and no sign of wear. Hind 30.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Giovanni b. piranesi
Veduta del Pantheon d’Agrippa.
Etching, 1761. 470x690 mm; 18½x27⅛ inches, small margins. Second state (of 5). From Vedute di Roma. A very good, well-inked impression with strong contrasts. Hind 60.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Giovanni b. piranesi
Veduta in Prospettiva della gran Fontana dell’Acqua Vergine detta di Trevi.
Etching, 1773. 475x715 mm; 18¾x28¼ inches, small margins. First state (of 3), before numbers. From Vedute di Roma. A very good, dark and well-inked impression of this large etching with strong contrasts. Hind 104.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Giovanni b. piranesi
Veduta dell’insigne Basilica Vaticana coll’ampio Portico, e Piazza adjacente.
Etching, 1775. 475x710 mm; 18½x27¾ inches, wide margins. First state (of 3), before numbers. Coat-of-arms with a lion (?) watermark (Hind 4). From Vedute di Roma. A superb, richly-inked impression with strong contrasts and no sign of wear. Hind 120.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Giovanni b. piranesi
Veduta del Romano Campidoglio con Scalinata che va alla Chiesa d’Araceli.
Etching, 1775. 406x551 mm; 16x21¾ inches. Third state (of 5), with the price erased and the numbers “15 III” engraved in the lower right margin. Trimmed on the plate mark.
With—Veduta del Tempio di Ercole, etching, 1769. 385x525 mm; 15¼x20¾ inches, wide margins. Second state (of 4). Both from Vedute di Roma. Both very good impressions with strong contrasts. Hind 38 and 91.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Giovanni b. piranesi
Veduta della Piazza di Monte Cavallo.
Etching, 1750. 394x550 mm; 15½x21⅝ inches, wide margins. Fourth state (of 6), with the address and price. Fleur-de-lys in a single circle surmounted by the letter B watermark (Hind 3). A superb, richly-inked impression with strong contrasts.
With—Veduta degli avanzi della Casa Aurea di Nerone, etching 1757. Third state (of 6) * Veduta del Tempio della Fortuna Virile, etching 1758. Fourth state (of 7). Each from Vedute di Roma. Hind 15, 45 and 46.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Giovanni b. piranesi
Group of 4 etchings from Vedute di Roma.
Sepolcro de Cecilia Metella, 1762. Third state (of 5) * Veduta degli avanzi superiori delle Terme di Diocleziano, 1774. First state (of 3) * Veduta degli avanzi superiori delle Terme di Diocleziano, 1774. First state (of 3) * Avanzi degl’Aquedotti Neroniani, 1775. First state (of 4). Various sizes and conditions. Very good impressions with strong contrasts. Hind 67, 115, 116 and 118.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Francisco josé de goya
Ni asi la Distingue.
Aquatint and etching, circa 1799. 215x150 mm; 8½x6 inches, full margins. First edition. From Los Caprichos. A very good impression with strong contrasts. Delteil 44; Harris 42.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Francisco josé de goya
Bellos consejos.
Aquatint and etching, circa 1799. 215x150 mm; 8½x6 inches, full margins. First edition. From Los Caprichos. A superb, richly-inked, dark impression with strong contrasts. Delteil 52; Harris 50.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Francisco josé de goya
El Sueño de la Razon Produce Montruos.
Aquatint and etching, circa 1799. 215x150 mm; 8½x6 inches, wide margins. Second edition, before the beveling of the plate, with the title on the desk distinct and with the foul-biting in the upper right margin. From Los Caprichos. A superb, dark, richly-inked impression.
Goya’s commentary on this subject reads, “Imagination abandoned by reason produces impossible monsters: united with her, she is the mother of arts and the source of their wonders.” Delteil 80; Harris 78.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Francisco josé de goya
Ligereza y atrevimiento de Juanito Apiñani en la de Madrid.
Etching and aquatint, 1815. 245x355 mm; 9¾x14 inches, wide margins. First edition. From La Tauromaquia. A superb, early impression with all the aquatint tones distinct and with crisp, partially inky plate edges. Delteil 243; Harris 223.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Francisco josé de goya
Pepe Illo Haciendo el Recorte al Toro.
Etching and aquatint, 1815. 245x355 mm; 9¾x14 inches, wide margins. First edition. From La Tauromaquia. A superb, early impression with all the aquatint tones distinct and with crisp, partially inky plate edges, and no sign of wear. Delteil 252; Harris 232.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Francisco josé de goya
Los Proverbios: Additional Plates.
Complete set of 4 aquatints with etching. Dos a Uno, Meten la Paja en el Culo * Bailando en una Cuerda Floja * Quien se pondrá el cascabel al gato? * Al Toro y al Aire Darles Calle (Lluvia de Toros). Each circa 1824. Each approximately 240x350 mm; 9½x13¾ inches, wide margins. Each from the first published edition. Published by L’Art, Paris. Superb, well-inked impressions with very strong contrasts. Delteil 220-223; Harris 266-269.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Francisco josé de goya
A group of 6 etchings with aquatint and drypoint executed in Bordeaux between 1824 and 1828.
Each on ivory wove paper, with an additional suite of the 6 etchings with aquatint on ivory wove paper (12 total), 1824-28 (printed later). Each approximately 190x120 mm; 7½x4¾ inches, full margins. Each in the final state. Each an edition of 150. Each printed by Emiliano Sorini, 1971.
Among these extremely scarce subjects, which are among the last printed works created by Goya (1746-1828) only a handful of prints are known in lifetime impressions (Harris 32 and 34). According to Harris, a very small posthumous edition on heavy laid paper was printed at the Calcografía, Madrid, in 1859 for John Savile Lumley. Subsequently, 3 impressions of each subject were made for the dealers Colnaghi, London, when they acquired the plates in 1926.
The plates were then acquired by the American collector Philip Hofer, who had Sorini print this edition in 1971 (as well as a smaller edition of 7 printed by Russell T. Limbach, Middletown, Connecticut, in 1960). Delteil 25-29; Harris 30-34 (Harris describes the 6th print in his footnote for number 34, but like Delteil does not give the print a separate number in his catalogue).
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Nineteenth Century Prints
William blake
The Just Upright Man is Laughed to Scorn.
Engraving on Chine collé, 1825. 216x170 mm; 8½x6¾ inches, full margins. Edition of 215, an early impression with the word “Proof” engraved lower right. Published by the artist and J. Linnell, London. From Illustrations of the Book of Job. A very good, richly-inked, early impression. Bindman 635.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
William blake
I Have Heard Thee with the Hearing of the Ear but Now My Eyes See Thee.
Engraving on Chine collé, 1825. 217x169 mm; 8½x7⅝ inches, full margins. Edition of 215. Published by the artist and J. Linnell, London. From Illustrations of the Book of Job. A very good impression. Bindman 641.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
William blake
The Circle of Thieves.
Engraving and drypoint on Chine collé, 1827. 275x355 mm; 10⅞x14 inches, full margins. Proof, before letters. From Illustrations to Dante’s Divine Comedy. A very good, early impression of this extremely scarce proof.
In 1824, Blake’s (1757-1827) friend the artist John Linnell, commissioned him to make a series of illustrations based on Dante’s Divine Comedy. Blake was then in his late sixties and infirm. A contemporary account informs us that he designed 100 watercolors of this subject “During a fortnight’s illness in bed.” The 102 designs he created were left at Blake’s death in 1827 in various stages of completion, ranging from pencil sketches to highly finished watercolors. Most show an expressive freedom in the handling of color washes far greater than Blake’s earlier watercolors. In 1826, Blake began to engrave large plates based on seven of the designs, the current engraving is one; these were also left incomplete at his death. Bindman 650.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Joseph m. w. turner
Mer de Glace, Valley of Chamonix, Savoy.
Mezzotint and engraving printed in dark brownish black, circa 1817-18. 220x298 mm; 8¾x11¾ inches, full margins. First state (of 6). From Liber Studiorum. A superb, richly-inked impression.
Mer de Glace, Valley of Chamonix, Savoy is part of a series of 81 mezzotints created by Turner (1775-1851) and other printmakers, after his oils, that have come to be known as the Liber Studiorum. These mezzotints are based on original watercolors by Turner, which are in turn derived from his paintings, essentially a visual catalogue raisonné of all his works. It’s considered that Turner approved of the mezzotint process as it simulated the appearance of watercolor on moist paper, which was among his preferred techniques and, in recognition of their commercial viability. The 1820 introduction of steel mezzotint plates (as opposed to copper, which produced very limited quality impressions before the plate wore down and required reworking) may have prompted him to issue these prints.
The Liber Studiorum series was produced primarily by Charles Turner and other engravers under the direction of J.M.W. Turner, with Turner himself working on 11 of the plates (including this one). Turner also produced the 12 additional plates which comprise the Little Liber Studiorum, a series of prints that was a sequel to the Liber Studiorum. The Liber Studiorum encompassed the entire œuvre of Turner’s work by mixing historical, pastoral, architectural and landscape scenes, while the Little Liber Studiorum presents ethereal atmospheric landscapes, representative of the iconic paintings for which he is now famous. Finberg 50.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Rodolphe bresdin
Le Bon Samaritain.
Lithograph on Chine appliqué, 1861. 570x445 mm; 22½x17½ inches, full margins. A very good impression of this tour-de-force lithograph, with all the details distinct. Van Gelder 100.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
James a. m. whistler
Venus.
Etching and drypoint printed in dark brownish black on antique cream laid paper, 1859. 152x228 mm; 6x9 inches, full margins. MacDonald’s second state (of 2), with the vertical and diagonal drypoint lines added in the upper right corner and still with the pentimenti of the upside down figure lower right distinct. Proprietary watermark. A brilliant, richly-inked impression with very strong contrasts.
The model for Venus is Fumette, Whistler’s Parisian mistress during the late 1850s. This is one of three portraits he made of her at the time. Her pose resembles Rembrandt’s nudes, notably the figure in Jupiter and Antiope, etching, 1659, while the sensuality of the subject recalls nude paintings by the French painter Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) from around this time.
According to MacDonald, Frederick Wedmore, the prominent collector of Whistler’s etchings, unflatteringly described Venus as, “A naked woman lying on her side, in bed, apparently sleeping, and with bent arm raised to her breast . . . It is the nude seen by Mr. Whistler with rather common eyes, for once–an animal, whom sleep has overcome.”
MacDonald cites 27 impressions in public collections. We have found only 17 other impressions at auction in the past 30 years. Kennedy 59; Glasgow 60.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
James a. m. whistler
Florence Leyland.
Drypoint, 1874. 212x136 mm; 8⅜x5⅜ inches, wide margins. MacDonald’s eleventh state “b” (of 11b), restored after cancellation. A very good impression of this extremely scarce print.
MacDonald notes approximately 20 impressions prior to cancellation and another 20 impressions printed after cancellation, with unobtrusive cancellation lines (as here), for the Fine Art Society, London, around 1879.
This is a portrait of the youngest daughter of Whistler’s (1834-1903) important patron, Liverpool shipping magnate, F. R. Leyland. Whistler’s commission to “harmonize” the design work started by another artist in Leyland’s house, which became known as the Peacock Room (or Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room, now installed in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.) for its bird motifs, 1876-77, resulted in a dispute over the artist’s excessive work and exorbitant price for the work and a falling out with his key patron. Whistler is reported to have said to Leyland, “Ah, I have made you famous. My work will live when you are forgotten. Still, per chance, in the dim ages to come you will be remembered as the proprietor of the Peacock Room.”
Provenance: A. A. Hahlo & Co., New York, with the label. Kennedy 110; Glasgow 136.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
James a. m. whistler
Whistler with the White Lock.
Etching and drypoint on antique cream laid paper, 1876-79. 119x80 mm; 4⅝x3⅛ inches, full margins. MacDonald’s first state (of 2), before cancellation. A superb impression of this very scarce etching.
This is the last of three etched self-portraits Whistler (1834-1903) created and the only one showing his signature white lock of hair.
Likely an impression from the Cancelled Set, before the subsequent edition printed by H. Wunderlich & Co., New York, in 1889. MacDonald notes that impressions of this subject were actually included in the set of cancelled plates issued in 1878 (though it was the only plate that was not in fact cancelled) and then re-issued a little more than a decade later by Wunderlich. Kennedy 172.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
James a. m. whistler
Long Venice.
Etching and drypoint printed in dark brownish black on antique cream laid paper, 1879-80. 123x303 mm; 4¾12 inches. MacDonald’s eighth state (of 8). Edition of approximately 30. Signed with the butterfly and inscribed “imp” in pencil on the tab, lower left. From Twenty-Six Etchings. A superb, richly-inked, dark impression of this very scarce etching.
According to MacDonald, Whistler sold the plate for this etching after he had completed the sixth state, and it was thereafter printed from by Émile Frédéric Salmon. The total edition of approximately 30 includes impressions taken by both Whistler and Salmon.
From the second set of Venice etchings by Whistler, one of 26 subjects in all (there were 12 etchings in the first set), published in an edition of approximately 30 by Dowdeswell and Dowdeswell, London.
According to MacDonald, “A panoramic view of the Venice shoreline from the Doge’s Palace, at the left, to Santa Maria della Salute and the Giudecca Canal in the distance on the right. There are sailing ships by the quayside and gondolas on the water . . . The view is reversed, as usual (on site, the view includes the Redentore on the left and Doge’s Palace on the right).” Kennedy 212; Glasgow 211.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
James a. m. whistler
Draped Model, Standing by a Sofa.
Lithograph, 1893. 205x210 mm; 8x8¼ inches, wide margins. Edition of only approximately 14. Printed by Frederick Goulding, 1904. A very good impression of this extremely scarce lithograph; this subject was not recorded by Way. Levy 187; Spink 75.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
James a. m. whistler
Mother and Child, No. 4.
Lithograph on Japan paper, 1891-1895. 143x232 mm; 5⅝x9⅛ inches, full margins. Edition of approximately only 6 or 8. Signed with the butterfly in pencil, lower right. Printed by Way, London. A very good impression of this exceedingly scarce lithograph.
We have found only one other impression at auction in the past 30 years.
Provenance: Robert Hartshorne, New York, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 2215b). Way 135; Levy 141; Spink 54.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Édouard manet (after)
Olympia.
Color aquatint and etching, 1926. 407x585 mm; 16⅛x23⅛ inches, full margins. Signed by Jacques Villon and numbered 40/100 in pencil, lower margin. Etched by Jacques Villon. Published by Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris. A superb, richly-inked impression with strong colors. Ginestet/Pouillon 647.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Édouard manet
Le Guitarrero (ou Le Chanteur Espagnol).
Etching and roulette, 1861-62. 298x245 mm; 11¾x9⅝ inches, full margins. Sixth state (of 6). A superb, richly-inked impression with strong contrasts.
Based on Manet’s (1832-1883) same-titled oil painting, 1861, now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. When first exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1861, it brought the artist’s first major critical success, and prompted this etched version of the subject. Guérin 16; Harris 12.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Édouard manet
Le Buveur d’Absinthe.
Etching and aquatint on cream laid Japan paper, 1862. 290x162 mm; 11½x6½ inches, wide margins. Third state (of 3). The Porcaboeuf edition of approximately only 12, aside from the Manet edition of only several proofs. A superb impression of this extremely scarce print. Guérin 9; Harris 16.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Édouard manet
Au Prado II.
Aquatint and etching printed in black on cream laid Japan paper, 1863-67. 222x155 mm; 8¾x6⅛ inches, full margins. Second state (of 2). The Porcaboeuf edition of approximately only 12, aside from the Manet edition of only several proofs. A superb, richly-inked impression of this extremely scarce etching.
We have found fewer than 12 other impressions at auction in the past 30 years.
Harris notes that the 1863 Manet edition consisted of, “An edition of between 5 and 28 sets of 15 etchings, printed on Chine paper for friends and patrons of the artist . . . Later sets of the edition might have included State I of Au Prado II, which is known in proofs on Chine.” As this subject was not originally included in the 1863 Manet edition, it seems likely that most, if not all, of the impressions to have appeared at auction over the past 30 years are from the Porcaboeuf edition. Guérin 46; Harris 45.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Édouard manet
Les Chats.
Etching and aquatint printed in dark brownish black, 1868-69. 177x221 mm; 7x8⅞ inches, full margins. First state (of 2), before cancellation. A very good, strong impression of this scarce etching. Guérin 52; Harris 64.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Édouard manet
Polichinelle.
Color lithograph, 1874. 470x336 mm; 18½x13¼ inches, wide margins. Fourth state (of 4). A very good impression of this scarce lithograph, with strong colors. Guérin 79; Harris 80.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Pierre-auguste renoir
La Danse à la Campagne, 2e planche.
Soft-ground etching, 1890. 220x135 mm; 8⅝x5⅜ inches, full margins. With the artist’s signature ink stamp (Lugt 2137a, lower right recto). A superb, richly-inked impression with strong contrasts and crisp, partially inky plate edges.
This etching is based on Renoir’s (1841-1919) oil painting La Danse à Bougival, 1883, now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. There is much discussion over who modeled for the painting’s figures. The prevailing opinion is that it depicts two of Renoir’s friends, Suzanne Valadon and Paul Lhote. Valadon (1865-1938) is more commonly agreed on as one of the models. Originally a trapeze artist, she became an artist’s model after an injury ended her performing career; however, she is best remembered as a successful painter herself and the mother of painter Maurice Utrillo (1883-1955). Delteil 2.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Pierre-auguste renoir
Les Deux Baigneuses.
Etching printed in red on cream wove paper, 1895. 262x240 mm; 10⅜x9½ inches, full margins. Proof impression before the etched signature, aside from the edition of 100 printed in black for L’Estampe originale. Signed and inscribed “Essai” in pencil, lower margin. A superb, richly-inked impression of this very scarce etching. Delteil 9.
Estimate
$15,000 – $20,000
Pierre-auguste renoir
Le Chapeau Epinglé (1e planche).
Lithograph printed in dark olive green, 1897. 600x492 mm; 23⅝x19¼ inches, full margins. Artist’s proof, aside from the editions of 50 printed in sanguine, 100 printed in black and 50 printed in brown. Printed by Auguste Clot, Paris. Published by Vollard, Paris. A superb, richly-inked impression of this large, important lithograph.
Renoir (1841-1919) made two versions of this lithograph: the first printed monochromatically in several different color editions and the second printed in nine colors combined. According to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, where there is an impression of the latter, “Le Chapeau Epinglé, one of Renoir’s largest, most elaborate prints, is among the lithographs he published in the 1890s, when color lithography finally began to shed its commercial associations and became a vehicle for original expression. His efforts in this medium were greatly indebted to the enterprising encouragement of two men: the Parisian dealer Ambroise Vollard, who commissioned prints by contemporary artists, and eventually became the most important print publisher of his time; and Auguste Clot, the great lithography printer who printed many of Vollard’s editions. Vollard believed that by using the finest paper and inks and employing the best master printers his editions would appeal to collectors as affordable alternatives to unique works.
To create this print, Renoir made a preliminary drawing on paper, which was transferred to the lithographic stone. He then reworked the image on the stone, using lithographic ink. After this state was printed, he colored an impression with pastel, which the printer then used as a guide for the preparation of the color print. The final print bears the kind of loose, feathery markings and vivid, atmospheric coloring that are hallmarks of Renoir’s paintings. The subject, which Renoir had previously treated in a pastel and an oil painting of 1893, as well as in three etchings of 1894, is the painter Berthe Morisot’s daughter, Julie, pinning flowers on her cousin Paulette’s broad-brimmed hat. Delteil 29.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Pierre-auguste renoir
Pierre Renoir, de face.
Lithograph printed in bistré on Chine volant, 1893. 290x236 mm; 11½x9¼ inches, wide) margins. Edition of 100. From L’Estampe Originale. A very good impression of this scarce, early lithograph.
Pierre Renoir (1885–1952) was the eldest son of the artist. He became a French stage and film actor and was the elder brother of the film director Jean Renoir. Delteil 27.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Edgar degas and george w. thornley
Sur la Plage.
Lithograph printed in brown on cream Chine appliqué on a greenish blue wove paper, circa 1888-89. 192x340 mm; 7⅝x13½ inches, small margins. The deluxe edition of 25, aside from the edition of 100. Signed by both Degas and Thornley in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Atelier Becquet, Paris. Published by Boussod-Valadon, Paris. From Quinze Lithographies. A very good, strong impression of this scarce print.
This lithograph is based on Degas’s (1834-1917) oil on canvas of the same title, 1869-70, now in the collection of the National Gallery, London. The painting is one of only four beach scenes by Degas. It was first painted during one of Degas’s travels to northern France around 1869 and finished in his studio later. Reed/Shapiro p. lvii.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Edgar degas
La Sortie de Bain.
Drypoint and aquatint on cream wove paper, 1879-80. 128x128 mm; 5⅛x5⅛ inches, full margins. Twenty-first state (of 22), with the left part of the door shaded. A superb, richly-inked and extremely scarce lifetime impression of this important print.
Delteil notes a total of 43 proofs represented at the Atelier Degas sale of 1918; Reed/Shapiro locate only 33 extant impressions.
According to Reed/Shapiro, “The date of execution for La Sortie de Bain, 1879-80, accords with Degas’s (1834-1917) renewed printmaking activity and his use of innovative methods that centered on the projected journal of prints, Le Jour et la nuit.
Provenance: the estate of the artist, Paris, with the red ink stamp verso (Lugt 657); his sale Catalogue des Eaux-fortes, Vernis mous, Aqua-tintes, Lithographies et Monotypies par Edgar Degas et provenant de son Atelier, Galerie Manzi-Joyant, Paris, November 22-23, 1918, lot 98 (part); Henri-Marie Petiet, Paris, with his blue ink stamp verso (Lugt 5031); sold Galerie Kornfeld, Bern, June 12, 2009, lot 30; private collection, New York. Delteil 39; Adhémar 49; Reed/Shapiro 42.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Edgar degas
Au Louvre, la peinture, Mary Cassatt.
Etching, aquatint and drypoint, circa 1879-80. 305x125 mm; 12x5 inches, wide margins. Twenty-first state (of 21), after cancellation. Edition of approximately 150. Published by Vollard, Paris. A superb, dark and richly-inked impression with very strong contrasts and the cancellation lines unobtrusive. Delteil 29; Adhémar 54.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Mary cassatt
Reine and Margot Seated on a Sofa (No. 2).
Drypoint, circa 1902. 430x327 mm; 16⅞x12⅞ inches, full margins. Edition of 50. Signed in pencil, lower right. “A. Porcaboeuf” watermark. A brilliant, richly-inked impression of this scarce print. Breeskin 177.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Camille pissarro
Effet de Pluie.
Etching and aquatint on cream wove paper, 1879. 160x213 mm; 6¼x8⅜ inches, full margins. Sixth state (of 6). Edition of only approximately 8-10 lifetime impressions in this state. Signed and inscribed “Épreuves d’artiste” in pencil, lower margin. A superb, richly-inked, early impression of this extremely scarce etching. Delteil 24.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Camille pissarro
Baigneuse vue de dos.
Etching and drypoint printed in dark brownish black, 1894-95. 87x73 mm; 3⅜x2⅞ inches, full margins. Fifth state (of 5). Edition of approximately only 5 in this state (there are a total of approximately 10 lifetime impressions in all 5 states combined). Signed, titled and inscribed “4e ep. d’etat” in pencil, lower margin. A superb, richly-inked impression of this extremely scarce print. Delteil 114.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Camille pissarro
Marché aux fruits.
Lithograph, circa 1896. 170x150 mm; 6¾x5¾ inches, full margins. One of only 3 signed impressions, from a total edition of approximately only 8. Signed and inscribed “Ep. def. no. 3” in pencil, lower margin. A very good impression of this extremely scarce lithograph. Delteil 156.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Paul cézanne
Les Baigneurs (petite planche).
Color lithograph, 1896-97. 224x275 mm; 8¾x10⅞ inches, full margins. Second state (of 2). Edition of 100. From Deuxième album d’estampes originales. A superb impression with vibrant colors. Cherpin 6.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Paul cézanne
Les Baigneurs (grande planche).
Color lithograph, circa 1896-98. 410x505 mm; 16x20 inches, full margins. Druick’s third state (of 3). Edition of approximately 100. Printed by Auguste Clot, Paris. Published by Vollard, Paris. A very good, richly-inked impression of this large, important lithograph, with strong colors.
Cézanne (1839-1906) based this iconic color lithograph on his earlier painting, Baigneurs au repos, 1875-76, now in the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia. There is also a watercolor and gouache maquette for the color lithograph at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Cherpin 7; Druick I.
Estimate
$20,000 – $30,000
Anders zorn
Augustus Saint-Gaudens, I.
Etching, 1897. 200x135 mm; 8x5¼ inches, wide margins. Second state (of 2). Signed in pencil, lower right. A very good impression of this scarce etching.
We have found only 11 other impressions at auction in the past 30 years.
Zorn’s (1860-1920) portrait of his friend, the American sculptor Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907). The two artists met at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 and became fast friends and colleagues. They shared similar ebullient lifestyles and well-heeled, society patrons. Zorn frequently visited Saint-Gaudens’s studios in both New York and Paris; the sculptor is seen in this etching in his artist’s smock in the studio. Delteil 112; Asplund 113; Hjert/Hjert 175.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Anders zorn
Dagmar.
Etching, 1912. 250x178 mm; 9¾x7 inches, full margins. Signed in pencil, lower right. A very good impression with strong contrasts. Asplund 250; Hjert/Hjert 263.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Anders zorn
Water-Nymphs.
Etching, 1918. 157x234 mm; 6¼x9¼ inches, full margins. Signed in pencil, lower right. A superb, richly-inked impression. Asplund 282; Hjert/Hjert 288.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Paul signac
Les Démolisseurs.
Lithograph, 1896. 470x305 mm; 18½x12 inches, full margins. Fourth state (of 4), with the printer’s address. Printed and published by Jean Grave for Les Temps Nouveaux. A superb, dark and richly-inked impression of this scarce lithograph. Kornfeld 15.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Paul signac (after)
Le Port de la Rochelle.
Color aquatint, 1928. 460x600 mm; 18¼x23¾ inches, full margins. Signed by Signac and numbered 116/200 in pencil, lower margin. Etched by Jacques Villon. Published by Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris. A very good impression with strong colors.
An avid sailor, Signac (1863-1935) started traveling by a small boat he owned in 1892 into the early 1900s to many of the ports of France, to the Netherlands and around the Mediterranean as far as Constantinople. He made numerous watercolor studies and oils of these ports, notably St. Tropez, where he docked his boat, and La Rochelle, a port in southwestern France, all in his characteristic pointillist style. His most famous oil of La Rochelle, done in 1921 and similar to this color aquatint, is now in the Musée d’Orsay, Paris. Ginestet/Pouillon 644.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Paul signac
Les Bateaux.
Color lithograph on Chine volant, 1895. 235x395 mm; 9¼x15½ inches, full margins. Third state (of 3). Edition of 40. Signed in pencil, lower right. Printed by August Clot, Paris. Published by Gustave Pellet, Paris, with the red ink stamp (Lugt 1190 lower right). A very good impression. Kornfeld 13.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Paul signac
Saint-Tropez—Le Port.
Color lithograph, 1894. 430x330 mm; 17x13 inches, full margins. Artist’s proof, with different color combinations from the published edition, aside from the edition of 100. Inscribed “1 Essai” in pencil, lower right. Printed by Auguste Clot, Paris. Published by Vollard, Paris. A superb impression of this important Pointillist lithograph, with strong colors. Kornfeld 19 A.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Maximilien luce (after)
Londres.
Color aquatint etching, 1929. 360x517 mm; 14¼x20¼ inches, full margins. Signed by both Luce and Villon and numbered 87/200 in pencil, lower margin. Etched by Jacques Villon. Published by Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris. A superb, richly-inked impression with strong colors. Ginestet/Pouillon 663.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Henri-edmond cross
Les Champs Élysées.
Color lithograph, 1897. 200x257 mm; 7¾x10¼ inches, full margins. Edition of 1100. From Pan. A very good impression.
Cross (1856-1910), along with Georges Seurat (1859-1891) and Paul Signac (1863-1935), was one of the best known practitioners of Pointillism, an artistic style prevalent in France during the last two decades of the 19th century.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Henri toulouse-lautrec
Mademoiselle Marcel Lender, en buste.
Color lithograph, 1895. 329x244 mm; 13x9⅝ inches, wide margins. Fourth state (of 4). Edition of 1100. Printed by Ancourt, Paris. Published in Pan, Berlin, volume I, no. 3. A very good impression. Delteil 102; Adhémar 131; Adriani 115.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Henri toulouse-lautrec
Lender et Lavallière, dans unse Revue aux Variétés.
Lithograph, 1895. 305x250 mm; 12¼x10 inches, full margins. Edition of 20. With the artist’s monogram red ink stamp (Lugt 5894, lower right recto). Published by Kleinmann, Paris. A very good impression of this scarce, early lithograph.
Marcelle Lender and Ève Lavallière were both prominent French stage performers during the late 19th century, whom Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) represented frequently, notably as here at the Théâtre des Variétés in Montmartre, Paris. Delteil 109; Adhémar 135; Adriani 119.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Théophile steinlen
L’Été, Chat sur une Balustrade.
Color lithograph, 1909. 502x625 mm; 19¾x24¾ inches (sheet), full margins. Edition of 250. Signed in pencil, center left recto on the wooden railing. Published by Sagot, Paris. A superb impression with vibrant colors. Crauzat 292.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Théophile steinlen
Deux Chats sur un meuble.
Drypoint, 1914. 295x295 mm; 11⅝x11⅝ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 35/23 in pencil, lower margin. A superb impression of this scarce print, with richly-inked burr.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Théophile steinlen
Chat couché allongé de gauche à droite, tête appuyée contre les pattes.
Soft ground etching, aquatint, and drypoint printed in noir bistré on thin cream wove paper, 1902. 119x234 mm; 4⅝x9¼ inches, full margins. One of only 4 impressions printed in noir bistré, from a total of only 11 proofs, and aside from the published edition of 22 in colors. Signed in pencil, lower right. A very good impression of this extremely scarce print with strong colors. Crauzat 98.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Théophile steinlen
Croquis de Chat couché sur le Sol.
Soft-ground etching and aquatint, 1902. 178x234 mm; 7x9¼ inches, full margins. One of only 4 numbered proofs. Signed and inscribed “No. 1” in pencil, lower margin. A superb, richly-inked impression of this extremely scarce etching. Crauzat 96.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Paul gauguin
Leda (Projet d’assiette).
Lithograph on simulation Japan paper, 1889. 220x205 mm; 8⅝x8⅛ inches. Edition of 50. From Études Lithographiques, one of 11 lithographs made by Gauguin for the Café Volpini exhibition, Paris. Published by Vollard, Paris. A very good impression of this extremely scarce, early lithograph.
Both Gauguin (1848-1903) and his friend Émile Bernard made a series of lithographs for the seminal 1889 exhibition of paintings at Volpini's Café des Arts, Paris, under the name "Groupe Impressioniste et Synthétiste." The show was organized under Gauguin's supervision after fellow artist Claude-Émile Schuffenecker had found exhibition space for their work at the Volpini Café des Arts on the grounds of the Exposition Universelle.
Gauguin who had returned to Paris during the winter of 1889, before the Exposition Universelle and directly after his ill-fated sojourn with Vincent van Gogh in Arles the previous fall, executed 11 lithographs--including the current subject and 10 others that would be exhibited at the Volpini show--which constitute his first efforts at printmaking.
Boyle-Turner notes that, "Desperate for money during this period, according to Bernard, Gauguin tried to sell his prints even before they were exhibited at the Exposition Universelle. He may well have seen these prints not only as an intriguing experiment with a new technique but also as a way to generate interest in his paintings and to earn a little money. They were almost a prospectus showing the variety of images he had produced over the years. The motifs he chose reveal his own preferences for at least some of his paintings," (The Prints of the Pont-Aven School, New York, 1989, page 36).
Despite Gauguin's efforts to promote the Café Volpini exhibition and sell his first lithographs, the exhibition was a financial failure. Not a single one of the 100 plus works exhibited by any of the artists was sold. Gauguin produced only two further lithographs after the Volpini series, opting instead to turn to woodcuts in 1894. Kornfeld 2.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Paul gauguin
Mahna No Varua Ino.
Woodcut on Chine volant, 1893-94. 205x355 mm; 8⅛x14 inches, full margins. Fourth state (of 4). Artist’s proof in this state, likely a lifetime impression, aside from the edition of 100. Printed before 1904, after the Roy edition of 1894 and before the Pola Gauguin edition of 100 published in 1921, before the significant vertical and horizontal cracks in the block which are evident in the 1921 edition.
Aside from early proofs like this printed in black and the color impressions printed by Gauguin himself, Kornfeld notes two impressions of other Noa Noa subjects printed before 1904 by Tony or Jacques Beltrand for Eugène Druet (Kornfeld 20 and 22). According to Kornfeld, Eugène Druet acquired 8 of the Noa Noa wood blocks sometime around 1914-18 and had Beltrand print impressions. In 1921, Druet sold the wood blocks to the artist’s son, Pola Gauguin, and he produced the edition of 100 impressions of each. The Pola Gauguin printings, as well as many of the Beltrand impressions, are evidenced by the splits in the blocks (which are particularly noticeable in the 1921 impressions).
The current impression predates these Beltrand and Pola Gauguin impressions. A superb, richly-inked impression of this extremely scarce woodcut. Kornfeld 19.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Paul gauguin
Te Po.
Woodcut on Chine volant, 1893-94. 206x354 mm; 8⅛x14 inches, full margins. Artist’s proof, likely a lifetime impression, aside from the posthumous edition of 100. Printed before 1904, after the Roy edition of 1894 and before the Pola Gauguin edition of 100 published in 1921, before the significant vertical cracks in the block which are evident in the 1921 edition. A superb, richly-inked impression. Kornfeld 21.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Pierre bonnard
Le Bain (deuxième planche).
Lithograph on Chine volant, circa 1925. 330x225 mm; 13x8⅞, full margins. Second state (of 2), with the printed signature. Edition of 50. Published by Edmond Frapier, Galerie des Peintres-Graveurs, Paris. A very good, dark impression. Bouvet 92a.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Pierre bonnard
Femme debout dans sa baignoire.
Lithograph, 1925. 300x200 mm; 11⅞x7¾ inches, full margins. First state (of 4), with the remarqués in the lower margin. One of only 5 proofs in this state, aside from the published edition of 100. Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by Galerie des Peintres-Graveurs, Paris. From Maîtres et petits maîtres d’aujourd’hui. A very good, richly-inked impression of this extremely scarce proof. Bouvet 94.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Pierre bonnard (after)
Les Fleurs.
Color lithograph, 1942. 665x535 mm; 26¼x21 inches, full margins. Initialed and numbered 22/80 in pencil, lower margin. Lithographed by Jacques Villon. A very good impression. Bouvet (Bonnard) 118; Ginestet/Pouillon (Villon) 688.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Pierre bonnard
L’Arc de Triomphe.
Color lithograph on Chine volant, 1899. 320x462 mm; 12⅝x18¼ inches, full margins. Edition of 100. Printed by the artist and Auguste Clot, Paris. Published by Vollard, Paris. From Quelques aspects de la vie de Paris. A very good impression. Bouvet 69.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Pierre bonnard
Place le Soir.
Color lithograph on Chine volant, 1899. 270x380 mm; 11x15 inches, full margins. Third state (of 3). Edition of 100. Signed in pencil, lower right. Printed by the artist and Auguste Clot, Paris. Published by Vollard, Paris. From Quelques aspects de la vie de Paris. A very good impression of this scarce lithograph. Bouvet 64.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Pierre bonnard
Rue, le Soir, sous la Pluie.
Color lithograph on Chine volant, 1899. 230x350 mm; 9x13¾ inches, full margins. Edition of 100. Signed and inscribed “No 82” in pencil, lower right. Printed by the artist and Auguste Clot, Paris. Published by Vollard, Paris. From Quelques aspects de la vie de Paris. A very good impression of this scarce lithograph with strong colors. Bouvet 68.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Paul césar helleu
Madame Helleu devant les Dessins de Watteau au Louvre.
Color drypoint on cream laid paper, circa 1895. 300x400 mm; 11¾x16 inches, full margins. Edition of 150. Signed in pencil, lower right. A superb, richly-inked impression. Montesquiou 56.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Paul césar helleu
La Visage encadré, Madame Helleu.
Color drypoint, circa 1900. 280x400 mm; 11x15¾ inches, full margins. Signed in pencil, lower left. A very good impression of this scarce print.
A portrait of Helleu’s (1859-1927) wife, Alice Guérin (1870-1933) whom he met painting a portrait commission of her in 1884. They fell in love and married two years later; throughout their lives together, she was Helleu’s favorite model and muse. Montesquiou 42.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Odilon redon
Béatrice.
Color lithograph on Chine appliqué, 1897. 332x295 mm; 13x11⅝ inches, full margins. Edition of 100. Printed by Auguste Clot, Paris. Published by Vollard, Paris. From L’Album des Peintres-Graveurs. A superb impression of this scarce, important lithograph. Mellerio 168.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Franz von stuck
Die Sinnlichkeit.
Etching, 1889. 215x172 mm; 8½x6⅞ inches, full margins. Signed in pencil, lower right. A very good, dark impression.
Von Stuck (1863–1928) was educated in Munich at the Kunstgewerbeschule and the Akademie der Bildenden Künste, training in both fine and applied arts. He stepped away from his academic training, using a traditional style but portraying haunting, symbolic scenes relating to psychology, sexuality and spirituality. The female figure bound by a snake is a repeated motif, present in paintings like The Sin, 1893, now at the Neue Pinakothek, Munich, Inferno, 1908, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and an oil version of the current lot, Die Sinnlichkeit, or The Sensuality sold Christie’s, London, 2010. Scholars have debated the meaning behind the snake, which is cited as a reference to the temptation of Eve, evil’s hold over mankind, or the concept of the femme fatale.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Auguste rodin
Le Printemps.
Drypoint, 1882-88. 148x100 mm; 5¾x4 inches, full margins. A superb, richly-inked impression. Delteil 4.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
Auguste rodin
Henri Becque.
Drypoint on Japan paper, 1883-87. 159x203 mm; 6¼x8 inches, full margins. Fourth state (of 4). Proof, aside from the edition of 100 from L’Estampe Originale. Signed in pencil, lower right. A superb impression of this extremely scarce print.
Rodin (1840-1917) made this drypoint from his terra-cotta bust sculpture from around 1883-86 (which he also made as a bronze), showing it from three different views. According to Thorson, “The Theatrical composition may be intentioned as Henri Becque (1837-1900), a close friend of Rodin, was a well-known dramatist and restorer of great realistic comedy . . . The playwright was among the distinguished writers, artists and statesmen, including J. P. Laurens, Alphonse Legros, Jules Dalou, Antonin Proust, and Victor Hugo, whose portraits Rodin made in the early 1880s when he began his series of busts of famous men and women.” Delteil 9; Thorson 7.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
James ensor
Cathédrale, deuxième planche.
Etching on imitation Japan paper, 1896. 236x178 mm; 9½x7 inches, wide margins. Signed and dated in pencil, lower right, and counter-signed and titled in pencil, verso. A superb, dark and well-inked impression with all the details distinct and with strong contrasts. Delteil 105; Taevernier 105, Elesh 107.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
American Prints
Frank w. benson
Bound Home.
Etching, 1918. 227x276 mm; 9x10⅞ inches, full margins. Edition of 150. Signed in pencil, lower left. A very good impression of this scarce, early etching.
According to Paff, “One of Mr. Benson’s most prized etchings is Bound Home . . . two men in a catboat, Frank Benson (1862-1951) and his son George, who handles the tiller.” Paff 134.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Frank w. benson
Elisabeth.
Etching, 1918. 252x202 mm; 10x8 inches, full margins. Edition of 150. Signed in pencil, lower left. A very good, richly-inked impression of this extremely scarce etching.
A portrait of the artist’s daughter, Elisabeth, born in 1892; the third of Benson’s (1862-1951) four children. Paff 150.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Childe hassam
The Steps.
Etching, 1915. 275x195 mm; 11x7¾ inches, full margins. Signed with the artist’s cypher and inscribed “imp” in pencil, lower right. A very good impression of this extremely scarce etching. Cortissoz/Clayton 52.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Childe hassam
Girl in a Modern Gown.
Etching and drypoint, 1922. 278x174 mm; 10¾x6¾ inches, full margins. Signed with the artist’s cypher and inscribed “imp” in pencil, lower right. A very good, richly-inked impression of this extremely scarce etching. Cortissoz/Clayton 210.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
John sloan
Anshutz on Anatomy.
Etching, 1912. 191x229 mm; 7½x9 inches, full margins. Eighth state (of 8). Edition of 80 (from an intended edition of 100). Signed, titled and inscribed “100 proofs” in pencil, lower margin. A superb, richly-inked impression with strong contrasts.
A scene showing Thomas Anshutz, an instructor at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, delivering a talk on anatomy to artists at the New York School of Art. There is a self-portrait of Sloan ( 1871-1951) at the extreme upper right (wearing glasses); next to Sloan is George Bellows, Maurice Prendergast is next to the left of Bellows, Robert Henri (with the moustache) is between Sloan and the woman with the hat, William Glackens is the frontal portrait to the extreme left of the woman with the hat. Morse 155.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
John sloan
Fourteenth Street, the Wigwam.
Etching, 1928. 249x178 mm; 9¾x7 inches, full margins. Seventh state (of 7). Edition of 110 (from an intended edition of 100). Signed, titled and inscribed “100 proofs” in pencil, lower margin. A superb, dark impression.
Sloan’s (1871-1951) depiction of a crowded New York street outside the headquarters of Tammany Hall, a fraternal society formed in 1789 that became a champion of the working class and was crucial to helping immigrants, especially the Irish, rise in politics in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The society was originally named for Chief Tamanend, a leader of the Lenape people during the colonial era, and its entirely white membership appropriated native terms, such as “wigwam,” into club lingo. By the time of Sloan’s etching, the Tammany Society was a strong supporter of the Democratic Party but also known for corruption. Morse 235.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
John sloan
Easter Eve, Washington Square.
Etching and aquatint, 1926. 253x200 mm; 10x7⅞ inches, full margins. Third state (of 3). Edition of 60 (from an intended edition of 100). Signed, titled and inscribed “100 proofs” in pencil, lower margin. A very good, richly-inked impression. Morse 222.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
John sloan
Night Windows.
Etching, 1910. 131x174 mm; 5¼x6⅞ inches, full margins. Fifth state (of 5). Edition of 110 (from an intended edition of 100). Signed, titled and inscribed “100 proofs” in pencil, lower right. A superb, dark impression with strong contrasts.
In his diary, Sloan (1871-1951) wrote, “The subject of this plate is one which I have had in mind—night, the roofs back of us—a girl in deshabille at a window and a man on the roof smoking his pipe.” It seems that he struggled with the execution of this idea, however; at various points he refers to this plate as “a pretty bad snarl,” and “a mess of line.” After roughly two years of work, he finally deemed the plate fit for publishing. Morse 152.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Edward hopper
Night Shadows.
Etching, 1921. 175x210 mm; 7x8¼ inches, full margins. Edition of approximately 500. Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by The New Republic, New York. A brilliant, luminous, richly-inked impression of this important etching, with very strong contrasts.
Hopper (1882-1967) began making etchings and drypoints in 1915 with the help of fellow artist Martin Lewis (1881-1962), and he produced 70 prints before he ceased etching in 1928 to focus solely on painting. Night Shadows is a particularly iconic image, epitomizing Hopper’s propensity for conveying isolation and stillness through the use of heavy chiaroscuro and strong, dark hatching throughout. He used a bird’s-eye vantage point with extended shadows and darkness to intensify the suspense and drama.
The artist depicted this same street corner in a painting from 1913, Corner Saloon, now in The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Unlike Hopper’s other prints, which he printed himself on his personal etching press in very small editions, this is the only etching that was printed in a larger edition, for The New Republic, New York, and published in a limited edition portfolio for their December 1924 issue. Levin 82.
Estimate
$25,000 – $35,000
John marin
The Lobster Fisherman.
Etching, 1948. 225x177 mm; 8⅞x7 inches, full margins. Edition of 125. Signed in pencil, lower right. Printed by David Strong, New York. Published by Twin Editions, New York. A superb, dark impression. Zigrosser 172.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Marsden hartley
Grapes.
Lithograph, 1923. 248x310 mm; 9⅞x12¼ inches, full margins. Signed and dated in pencil, lower right. A superb, richly-inked impression of this early, very scarce lithograph.
We have found only two other impressions at auction in the past 30 years.
Hartley (1877-1943) was a member of the “Stieglitz Group,” under the patronage of the famed gallerist and early champion of modern art in America, Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946) who arranged the artist’s first solo exhibition in 1909 at his 291 Gallery in New York. This was a major turning point in Hartley’s career; through Stieglitz he met and became influenced by other emerging artists such as Charles Demuth (1883-1935), Arthur Dove (1880-1946), John Marin (1870-1953) and Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986).
Growing up in Maine and Cleveland, Hartley showed promise as a young artist and was funded by an art patron to study in New York in 1899. He studied with William Merritt Chase (1849-1916) at his New York School and at the National Academy of Design. But it was not until he gained the support of Stieglitz and the artist Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), a senior member of the Stieglitz circle, that he was able to travel to Paris. In France, Hartley closely studied the Post-Impressionist and Cubist masterpieces and experimented in these styles. From Paris, he traveled through Europe and arrived in Berlin. Adopting a bold new style, Hartley exhibited with the avant-garde Der Blaue Reiter group in 1913. He revisited Berlin in 1914, producing his most iconic works of the War Motif series, following the death of his purported romantic partner, a German World War I soldier named Karl von Freyburg. These paintings are comprised of bold, sweeping colors, German insignia and undulating flattened shapes.
Ingenious and innovative, Hartley drew from the two-dimensionality of the Cubists and the spiritualism, raw emotion and subjectivity of the Expressionists. Hartley traveled around the world throughout his career, often deeply embedding himself in his surroundings. His works slowly became less abstract as his career advanced. University of Kansas 4.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Marsden hartley
Apples in Basket.
Lithograph on light tan wove paper, 1923. 34x465 mm; 13¼x18½ inches, full margins. Edition of approximately 25. Signed and dated in pencil, lower right. A superb impression of this scarce lithograph with strong contrasts. University of Kansas 8.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rockwell kent
Imperishable.
Wood engraving on imitation Japan paper, 1927. 170x255 mm; 6¾x10¼ inches, full margins. Edition of 100. Signed in pencil, lower right. A superb impression of this extremely scarce, early print.
Though Burne-Jones calls for an edition of 100, we have found fewer than 5 other impressions at auction in the past 30 years. Burne-Jones 16.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rockwell kent
Godspeed.
Wood engraving, 1931-32. 136x175 mm; 5¼x6⅞ inches, full margins. Edition of 150. Signed in pencil, lower right. A superb, evenly-printed impression. Burne-Jones 84.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rockwell kent
Home Port.
Wood engraving, 1931. 165x188 mm; 6½x7⅜ inches, full margins. Edition of 150. Signed in pencil, lower right. A very good, evenly-printed and dark impression. Burne-Jones 62.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rockwell kent
End of the World Series.
Group of 3 (of 4) lithographs, 1937. Each approximately 310x257 mm; 12¼x10¼ inches, full margins. Each signed in pencil, lower right. Commissioned by Life magazine to illustrate an article on the Hayden Planetarium in their November 1, 1937, issue. Includes Lunar Disintegration, Solar Flare-up and Degravitation. Very good impressions of these extremely scarce lithographs. Burne-Jones 115, 117 and 118.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Gustave baumann
Road to Town.
Color woodcut, 1917. 245x285 mm; 9⅝x11¼ inches, full margins. First edition (of 2). Signed and titled in pencil, lower margin (the combined intended editions were 225, though approximately only 101 impressions total were printed from both editions). A superb impression of this very scarce woodcut with strong colors. Chamberlain 50.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Gustave baumann
Rose Farm.
Color woodcut, 1919. 240x290 mm; 9½x11⅜ inches, full margins. First edition (of 2). Signed and titled in pencil, lower margin (the combined intended editions were 225, though approximately only 121 impressions total were printed from both editions). A very good impression. Chamberlain 69.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Frances gearhart
Morning Shadows.
Color woodcut, circa 1930. 228x173 mm; 9x6¾ inches, full margins. Signed and titled in pencil, lower margin. A superb impression inked with vibrant colors.
We have not found another impression at auction in the past 30 years.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Ada gilmore
A Back Street.
Color woodcut, 1919. 242x241 mm; 9½x9½ inches. Signed in ink in the image, lower center, and signed, dated and titled in ink, lower margin. A very good impression with strong colors.
Gilmore (1883-1955) is known for her contributions to the development of the white-line woodcut printmaking technique. Born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Gilmore studied at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1903-07 before traveling throughout Europe with her classmate Mildred McMillen and eventually settling in Paris. When World War I broke out she moved to Provincetown, Massachusetts, where she became part of the group of artists championing the new manner of executing woodblocks developed by Bror Julius Olsson Nordfeldt (1878-1955) known as the “Provincetown Printers.”
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Martin lewis
Quarter of Nine, Saturday’s Children.
Drypoint printed in dark brownish black, 1929. 253x326 mm; 10x12⅞ inches, full margins. Edition of 107. Signed and inscribed “imp” in pencil, lower right. A superb, luminous impression. McCarron 78.
Estimate
$15,000 – $20,000
Martin lewis
Shadow Dance.
Drypoint and sand ground, 1930. 240x276 mm; 9½x11 inches, full margins. Edition of approximately 109. Signed in pencil, lower right. A superb, richly-inked, luminous impression of this important print, with all the details distinct.
According to McCarron, “The location depicted appears to be the intersection of Thirty-Fourth Street and Park Avenue, looking west.” Lewis has captured the bright summer sun setting across the Hudson River, its raking light forming long shadows from the figures walking east across Park Avenue.
Among Lewis’s (1881-1962) most masterful prints are those depicting scenes of New York City life. These prints have historical interest, as the imagery captures the architecture and styles of the time, while simultaneously incorporating ephemeral moments. The time of day, the weather, the lighting, the street-level views— each aspect was important and added to the atmosphere of the scene. Lewis’s use of shadows and light to create mood, life and movement is most powerful in his New York prints. Shadow Dance is among his most celebrated works, incorporating all of the aspects that make his prints such cherished glimpses into New York’s bustling yester-year, while simultaneously capturing the timelessness of city life. McCarron 88.
Estimate
$30,000 – $50,000
Martin lewis
Night in New York.
Etching, 1932. 213x225 mm; 8½x8¾ inches, wide margins. Edition of 135. Printed by Charles S. White, New York. Published by the Chicago Society of Etchers, with the blind stamp lower left. A superb impression with strong contrasts. McCarron 102.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Martin lewis
Chance Meeting.
Drypoint, 1940-41. 265x187 mm; 10½x7½ inches, full margins. Edition of 105. Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by the Society of American Etchers, New York. A superb, richly-inked impression. McCarron 131.
Estimate
$6,000 – $9,000
Martin lewis
Misty Night, Danbury.
Lithograph, 1947. 280x395 mm; 11x15½ inches. Edition of only 19. Signed in pencil, lower right. A very good impression of this extremely scarce lithograph.
We have found only four other impressions at auction in the past 30 years.
According to McCarron, “This is the only depiction of fog in Lewis’s (1881-1962) printed œuvre, and the grainy nature of lithography is particularly suited to it, His use of a delicate tracery of crooked lines to denote tree limbs in the distance is, likewise, found only in this print.” McCarron 142.
Estimate
$20,000 – $30,000
Samuel chamberlain
Manhattan Twilight.
Etching and drypoint printed in dark brownish black, 1932. 336x240 mm; 13¼x9⅜ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 94/100 in pencil, lower margin. A superb, richly-inked, luminous impression of this scarce etching.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Howard cook
Greetings from the House of Weyhe.
Wood engraving on Japan paper, 1929. 195x113 mm; 7¾x4½ inches, full margins. Edition of 100. Signed, dated and inscribed “imp.” and “100” in pencil, lower margin. A very good, dark and evenly-printed impression.
Cook’s (1901-1980) view of the Weyhe Gallery, which operated in the same New York location, a brownstone at 794 Lexington Avenue, from 1923 to 1994. The Weyhe Gallery organized a solo exhibition of Cook’s prints and drawings in February 1929. Duffy 111.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Howard cook
Skyscraper #2 (Chrysler Tower).
Wood engraving, 1930. 122x78 mm; 4⅞x3⅛ inches, wide margins. Edition of 50. Signed in pencil, lower right. A very good impression. Duffy 141.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Thomas hart benton
Haystack.
Lithograph, 1938. 260x325 mm; 10¼x12¾ inches, full margins. Edition of 250. Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by Associated American Artists, New York. A very good impression. Fath 21.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Thomas hart benton
The Corral.
Lithograph, 1948. 247x352 mm; 9¾x13⅞ inches, full margins. Edition of 250. Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by Associated American Artists, New York. A very good impression with strong contrasts.
According to Benton (1889-1975), this lithograph was based on a 1939 drawing he made in western Nebraska, during a trip through the Plains region with U.S. Army personnel to buy quarter horses for the French light artillery in World War II. Fath 71.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Thomas hart benton
Spring Tryout.
Lithograph, 1943. 240x347 mm; 9⅜x13⅝ inches, wide margins. Edition of 250. Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by Associated American Artists, New York. A very good impression. Fath 61.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Thomas hart benton
The Boy.
Lithograph, 1948. 240x348 mm; 9½x13¾ inches, wide margins. Edition of 250. Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by Associated American Artists, New York. A very good impression with strong contrasts. Fath 72.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Thomas hart benton
The Race.
Lithograph, 1942. 225x334 mm; 8⅞x13⅛ inches, full margins. Edition of 250. Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by Associated American Artists, New York. A superb, richly-inked impression of this important lithograph.
Based on the same-titled oil painting, now in a private American collection. Benton (1889-1975) shows a lone horse racing a steam engine across a barren midwestern prairie. The telephone pole and line are the only other signs of human presence in this bygone scene. Fath 56.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Thomas hart benton
Threshing.
Lithograph, 1941. 237x353 mm; 9⅜x14 inches, full margins. Edition of 250. Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by Associated American Artists, New York. A superb, strong impression.
This lithograph relates to a series of drawings and a painting (now in the Swope Art Gallery, Terre Haute, Indiana) that Benton made in 1938 on a farm in Johnson County, Kansas, around 25 miles outside Kansas City. Fath 48.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Thomas hart benton
Running Horses.
Lithograph, 1955. 317x420 mm; 12½x16⅝ inches, full margins. Edition of 75 (from an intended edition of 100). Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by Associated American Artists, New York. A superb, dark and richly-inked impression of this very scarce lithograph.
Benton (1889-1975) used the imagery of horses running with a steam train— horsepower against man-made power, the old versus the new— in two lithographs, this work and The Race, 1942 (see Fath 56), as well as in several oil paintings. Fath 78.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Grant wood
July Fifteenth.
Lithograph, 1938. 228x302 mm; 9x12 inches, wide margins. Edition of 250. Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by Associated American Artists, New York. A very good, evenly-printed impression. Cole 5.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Peter hurd
The Late Call.
Lithograph, 1949. 345x465 mm; 13⅝x13¼ inches, full margins. Signed in pencil, lower right margin. A very good impression of this extremely scarce lithograph.
We have found only six other impressions at auction in the past 30 years.
According to Meigs, this lithograph was commissioned from Hurd (1904-1984) by the Abbott Chemical Company to be reproduced in the company’s monthly publication What’s New and only trial proofs were printed. Meigs LIX.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Milton avery
Riders in the Park.
Drypoint, 1948. 100x127 mm; 3⅞x5 inches, full margins. Edition of 100. Signed in pencil, lower left. Printed by Atelier 17, New York. Published by Laurel Gallery, New York. From Laurels Portfolio No. 4. A very good impression. Lunn 26.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Milton avery
Sally with Beret.
Drypoint printed in dark brownish black, 1939. 201x162 mm; 7⅞x6⅜ inches, full margins. Signed, dated and numbered 54/100 in pencil, lower margin. A very good, richly-inked impression with warm plate tone.
Sally Michel (1902-2003) was a young art student when she and Avery met in 1924. They married in 1926 and had a daughter, March Avery, in 1932. The income from Sally’s work as an illustrator during their early years of marriage enabled Avery to devote more of his time to painting and his pursuit of a career as a fine artist. Lunn 18.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Milton avery
Head of a Man.
Drypoint, 1935. 232x119 mm; 9¼x4¾ inches, full margins. Edition of 100. Signed in pencil, lower right. Printed by Atelier 17, New York. Published by Laurel Gallery, New York. From Laurels Portfolio No. 4. A superb impression of this very scarce print.
A portrait of the artist Louis Wiesenberg (1893-1943). Originally from Poland, Wiesenberg came to New York via Montreal in the 1920s and became friends with both Avery (1885-1965) and Mark Rothko (1903-1970). Lunn 8.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Milton avery
Man with Pipe.
Drypoint, 1938. 162x148 mm; 6⅜x5¾ inches, full margins. Signed, dated and numbered 22/60 in pencil, lower margin. A very good, richly-inked impression of this scarce print.
A portrait of the artist Vincent Spagna (1896-1994). Lunn 14.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Milton avery
Umbrella by the Sea.
Drypoint, 1948. 120x182 mm; 4¾x7¼ inches, full margins. Edition of 100. Signed in pencil, lower right. Printed by Atelier 17, New York. Published by Laurel Gallery, New York. From Laurels Portfolio No. 4. A very good impression. Lunn 26.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Ben shahn
For the Sake of a Single Verse by Rainer M. Rilke.
Portfolio with complete text and 23 lithographs (some printed in colors) and lithograph headpiece, 1968. 572x450 mm; 22½x17¾ inches (sheets), full margins, loose as issued.
Edition of 950. Signed and numbered “#927” in color pencils on the justification page. Printed by Atelier Mourlot, New York. Published by Touchstone Publishers, Ltd., New York.
Original gray linen portfolio. Very good impressions. Prescott 113-136.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Latin American Prints
José clemente orozco
Mujer Mexicana.
Lithograph, 1926. 350x250 mm; 13⅞x9⅞ inches, full margins. Edition of 100. Signed in pencil, lower right. A very good impression of this scarce, early lithograph.
This lithograph is based on a figure in Orozco’s (1883-1949) fresco panel The Return to Labor commissioned for the National Preparatory School of the Ministry of Education, Mexico City, 1926. Hopkins 5.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
José clemente orozco
Los hombres colgados (The Hanged Men).
Lithograph, 1933-34. 325x227 mm; 12¾x8¾ inches, full margins. Edition of 100. Signed in pencil, lower margin. Printed by George Miller, New York. Published by Contemporary Print Group, New York. A very good impression.
Alternatively titled The American Scene, this lithograph was made for the American Civil Rights Congress, with all proceeds from sales going to fight segregation and racial discrimination. Hopkins 23.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
José clemente orozco
Demonio II.
Aquatint, 1944. 273x220 mm; 10⅝x8½ inches, full margins. Edition of approximately 80. Signed in pencil, lower right. A superb, richly-inked impression of this very scarce print. Hopkins 40.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Leopoldo méndez
En nombre de Cristo.
Portfolio of seven lithographs, 1939. Each 350x235 mm; 13⅞x9¼ inches (sheet), full margins. Each sheet signed in pencil, lower right. Printed and published by Editorial Gráfica Popular, Mexico City. Lacking complete text. Very good impressions.
In this portfolio, commissioned by the Ministry of Public Education, Méndez (1902-1969) makes a denunciation against the brutal events that marked the constant conflicts between the Church and the State during the government of Lázaro Cárdenas (1934-1940) in the post-Cristero war era.
With—Mexican Life: Graphic Masterpieces Depicting the Life and People of Mexico, portfolio of 8 photolithographs. Each 480x405 mm; 19x16 inches (sheets), full margins, loose as issued. With original paper folder. Lacking complete text. Includes photolithographs by MÉNDEZ * BELTRAN * YAMPOLSKY * DOSAMANTES * RABEL * O’HIGGINS * CATLETT * CALDERON.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Leopoldo méndez
Three linoleum cuts.
Brute, 1948. 305x417 mm; 12x16½ inches, full margins. Signed in pencil, lower right. From Río Escondido * La Cosecha. 305x420 mm; 12x16½ inches, full margins. Signed in pencil, lower right * Mujer sentado. 228x228 mm; 9x9 inches. Each printed by Taller de Gráfica Popular, Mexico City. Each a very good impression.
With— El Maíz (Grinding Maize), lithograph, 1946. 350x285 mm; 13¾x11¼ inches, full margins. Edition of 250. Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by Associated American Artists in collaboration with Taller de Gráfica Popular, Mexico City. From Mexican People.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Leopoldo méndez
Three prints.
Emiliano Zapata, wood engraving, circa 1934. 156x95 mm; 6¼x3¾ inches, wide margins. Signed in pencil, lower right * Mujeres en duelo, linoleum cut. 152x112 mm; 6x4⅜ inches, wide margins. Signed in pencil, lower right * El látigo, linoleum cut. 83x55 mm; 3¼x2⅛ inches, wide margins. Signed in pencil, lower right. Very good impressions.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Leopoldo méndez
Group of 4 wood engravings.
Concierto de locos (God and the Four Evangelists, Fool’s Concert), 1932. 147x147 mm; 5¾x5¾ inches, full margins. * Mitin improvisado (Street Meeting), 1943. 200x150 mm; 7⅞x5⅞ inches, full margins * El rayo (The Thunderbolt), 1943. 87x98 mm; 3⅜x3⅞ inches, full margins. Each from an edition of 100. Each signed in pencil, lower right. Each printed and published by Taller de Gráfica Popular, Mexico City. Each from 25 Prints of Leopoldo Méndez * What May Come (Mexico, 1945), wood engraving, 1945. 305x171 mm; 12x6¾ inches, full margins. Printed by Max Kahn for the Print and Drawing Club of the Art Institute of Chicago. Each a very good impression.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Taller de gráfica popular
450 Años de Lucha: Homenaje al Pueblo Méxicano.
Portfolio with complete text and 146 wood engravings and offset lithographs, including 11 printed in colors, by various artists, on various color woven papers, 1960. 400x270 mm; 15¾x10⅝ inches (sheet), full margins, loose as issued. Edition of 200. Signed and dedicated by the artists Aguirre, Bracho, Calderon, Catlett, Bustos, Iñiguez, Jimenez, Martin, Mora, Morales, Pujol, Quinteros, Xavier Guerrero, and Sosamontes ink, on the paper folder. Printed and published by Taller de Gráfica Popular, Mexico City. Original printed paper folder.
Includes prints by AGUIRRE, ALVAREZ AMAYA, ARENAL, BELTRAN, BRACHO, CALDERON, CASTRO-PACHECO, CATLETT DE MORA, ESCOBEDO, GARCIA BUSTOS, HUERTA, IÑIGUEZ, MARTIN, MORA, MORALES, OCAMPO, O’HIGGINS, PUJOL, QUINTEROS, RAMIREZ, VENTURA, YAMPOLSKY and ZALCE.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
David a. siquieros
La Penitenciaria.
Woodcut, 1930. 97x83 mm; 3⅞x3¼ inches, full margins. Signed, titled, dated and numbered 145/300 in pencil, lower margin. A very good impression of this early woodcut.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
David a. siqueiros
Nuestra Imagen Actual.
Lithograph, 1945. 300x225 mm; 11¾x8¼ inches, full margins. Artist’s proof, aside from the edition of 12. Signed, dated and inscribed “E/E” in pencil, lower margin. A very good impression of this extremely scarce lithograph.
Estimate
$1,200 – $1,800
Elena huerta muzquiz
Two linocuts.
El pozo del Mezquital. 292x354 mm; 11½x13⅞ inches, full margins * Coscomates de Cuautla. 340x450 mm; 13⅜x17¾ inches, full margins. Both signed in pencil, lower right, and titled in pencil, verso.
With— Group of 5 lithographs, circa 1950. Including Campenina (China) * Puerta (China) * Muchacha (China) * Niña China * Muchacha China. Each signed and numbered in pencil, lower margin, and titled in pencil, verso. Various sizes and conditions.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
Francisco dosamantes
Tres Mujeres.
Lithograph, circa 1935. 472x305 mm; 18¾x12 inches, full margins. Signed, annotated and numbered 9/46 in pencil, lower margin. A very good impression of this scarce, early lithograph.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
Francisco dosamantes
Trío Maya (Mayan Trio).
Lithograph, 1950. 325x240 mm; 13x9½ inches, wide margins. Edition of 250. Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by Associated American Artists, New York, with the label. A very good impression.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
Rufino tamayo
Hombre Contemplando la Luna.
Aquatint and etching, 1947. 200x147 mm; 8x5⅞ inches, full margins. Edition of 80. Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by The Quadrangle Press, New York. From the deluxe edition of Tamayo by Robert Goldwater.
Likely printed at Atelier 17, New York, under the direction of Stanley W. Hayter. A superb, richly-inked impression of this extremely scarce, early etching. Tamayo 29.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rufino tamayo
Hombre, Luna y Estrellas.
Color lithograph, 1950. 505x350 mm; 20x13 inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 87/200 in pencil, lower margin. Printed by the Guilde Internationale de l’Amateur de Gravures, Paris, with the blind stamp lower left. A fine impression of this early lithograph. Pereda 30.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rufino tamayo
Cabeza con Pájaros.
Color lithograph, 1958. 302x230 mm; 12x9 inches, full margins. Edition of 300. Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by Galerie de France, Paris. A very good impression of this early lithograph with strong colors. Pereda 50.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Rufino tamayo
Mujer.
Color lithograph, 1964. 559x464 mm; 22x18¼ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 18/20 in pencil, lower right. Printed and published by Tamarind, Los Angeles. A superb impression of this extremely scarce lithograph with vibrant colors.
We have found only three other impressions at auction in the past 30 years. Pereda 81.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rufino tamayo
Torso de Mujer.
Color lithograph, 1969. 693x540 mm; 27¼x21¼ inches, full margins. An hors commerce impression, aside from the edition of 150. Signed and inscribed “H.C.” in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Desjobert, Paris. Published by Touchstone Publishers, Ltd., New York. From Mujeres. A very good impression. Pereda 108.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rufino tamayo
Carnavalesque.
Color lithograph, 1969. 690x533 mm; 27⅛x21 inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 106/150 in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Desjobert, Paris. Published by Touchstone Publishers, Ltd., New York. From Mujeres. A very good impression. Pereda 114.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Rufino tamayo
Mujer con Medias Malva.
Color lithograph, 1969. 693x540 mm; 27¼x21¼ inches, full margins. An hors commerce impression, aside from the edition of 150. Signed and inscribed “H.C.” in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Desjobert, Paris. Published by Touchstone Publishers, Ltd., New York. From Mujeres. A very good impression. Pereda 115.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rufino tamayo
Mujer con Mallas Rosas.
Color lithograph, 1969. 693x540 mm; 27¼x21¼ inches, full margins. An hors commerce impression, aside from the edition of 150. Signed and inscribed “H.C.” in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Desjobert, Paris. Published by Touchstone Publishers, Ltd., New York. From Mujeres. A very good impression. Pereda 116.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rufino tamayo
Sin Título (Los Signos Existen).
Color lithograph, 1974. 700x495 mm; 27⅝x19½ inches (sheet), full margins. One of 3 numbered hors commerce impressions, aside from the edition of 100. Signed and inscribed “H/C” in pencil and numbered 2/3 in black crayon, lower margin. Printed by Franco Cioppi, Rome. Published by Edizioni d’Arte AKA, Rome. A very good impression with vibrant colors. Pereda 161.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Rufino tamayo
Juglar.
Color aquatint and etching, 1979. 760x560 mm; 29⅞x22 inches (sheet), full margins. Signed and numbered 84/99 in white crayon, lower margin. Printed and published by Polígrafa, Barcelona. From Rufino Tamayo 15 Aguafuertes 1979. A very good impression of this scarce print.
We have found only two other impressions at auction in the past 30 years. Pereda 255.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rufino tamayo
Cabeza en Rojo.
Color aquatint and etching, 1979. 560x760 mm; 22x30 inches (sheet), full margins. Signed and numbered 77/99 in white crayon, lower margin. Printed and published by Polígrafa, Barcelona. From Rufino Tamayo 15 Aguafuertes 1979. A very good impression with strong colors. Pereda 257.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Rufino tamayo
Cabeza en Gris.
Color aquatint and etching, 1979. 755x555 mm; 29¾x22 inches (sheet), full margins. Signed and numbered 90/99 in crayon, lower margin. Printed and published by Polígrafa, Barcelona. From Rufino Tamayo 15 Aguafuertes 1979. A very good impression of this large, scarce print.
We have found only 3 other impressions at auction in the past 30 years. Pereda 262.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Rufino tamayo
Hombre.
Color lithograph, 1979. 225x190 mm; 9x7½ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 44/100 in pencil, lower margin. Printed and published by Polígrafa, Barcelona. From Ediciones Polígrafa at Redfern Gallery. A very good impression of this scarce lithograph with strong colors. Pereda 265.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Rufino tamayo
Cabeza.
Color aquatint and etching, 1980. 760x560 mm; 30x22 inches (sheet), full margins. Signed and numbered 7/99 in crayon, lower margin. Printed and published by Polígrafa, Barcelona. From Rufino Tamayo 15 Aguafuertes 1980. A very good impression. Pereda 270.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
José luis cuevas
Crime by Cuevas.
Portfolio with complete text and 12 lithographs, some printed in colors,1968. 760x560 mm; 30x22 inches (sheets), full margins, loose as issued.
Edition of 100. Each, but two of the lithographs, signed, dated and numbered 40/100 in pencil, lower margin. Numbered 40/100 in pencil on the justification page. Printed by Mourlot, New York. Published by Touchstone Publishers, Ltd., New York. Original linen buckram with backbone in quarter round black calf leather portfolio case. Very good impressions.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Fernando botero
Pedrito.
Color offset lithograph, 1975. 970x758 mm; 37⅞x29½ inches, full margins. Signed, titled, dated and numbered 134/250 in pencil, lower margin.
Based on the same-titled painting by Botero (born 1932) now in the Museo de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia. Botero painted this portrait of his son Pedrito on a toy horse shortly after the four-year-old was killed in an auto accident in Spain in 1974 during a family vacation.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Ángel botello
La carta.
Color lithograph, 1980-81. 472x560 mm; 18½x22 inches, full margins. An hors commerce impression, aside from the edition of 150. Signed, dedicated and inscribed “H/C” in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Claude Jobin Grapholith, Paris, with the blind stamp lower right. A very good impression.
Estimate
$1,200 – $1,800
European Prints
Pablo picasso
Le Bain.
Drypoint, 1905. 344x285 mm; 13½x11¼ inches, full margins. Edition of 250. Printed by Louis Fort, Paris. Published by Vollard, Paris. From La Suite des Saltimbanques. A superb, dark impression of this early drypoint, with all the delicate horizontal wiping scratches distinct and with burr throughout.
Coinciding with his Rose Period (or Circus Period) of painting, Picasso’s first series of etchings in 1905, generally known as La Suite des Saltimbanques, and created at the outset of his career at only 24 years old, are mostly candid representations of the lives and private moments of acrobats and gypsies. Picasso frequently attended the Cirque Médrano in Montmartre, Paris, near his studio. As a young artist, he was drawn to the bohemian lifestyle of the circus folk, their freedom of expression and their declassé subculture. Bloch 12; Geiser 14.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Pablo picasso
Les Saltimbanques.
Drypoint, 1905. 286x330 mm; 11¼x13 inches, wide margins. Edition of 250. Printed by Louis Fort, Paris. Published by Vollard, Paris. From La Suite des Saltimbanques. A superb, dark impression with strong contrasts and crisp, inky plate edges. Bloch 7; Geiser 9.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Pablo picasso (after)
Nature morte devant une Fenêtre à Saint-Raphaël.
Color photogravure with drypoint, aquatint and roulette on Chine collé, circa 1919. 347x246 mm; 13½x9⅝ inches, full margins. Edition of 100. Signed in pencil, lower right. A superb impression of this very scarce print, with fresh, strong colors.
Nature morte devant une Fenêtre à St. Raphael is based on a gouache painting from a series of works Picasso (1881-1973) made during a trip with his then new wife, the Russian ballet dancer, Olga Khokhlova, to Saint-Raphaël, a small town popular with British holiday makers situated on the French Riviera between Cannes and Saint Tropez. Here the newly married couple stayed in the elegant Hôtel Continental et des Bains. Their room and balcony looked out over the sparkling Mediterranean, and it was this setting that inspired Picasso to begin a series of elegant domestic still-lifes in pencil, gouache and watercolor that featured a table placed in front of the open hotel window.
Estimate
$20,000 – $30,000
Pablo picasso (after)
Nature morte.
Color aquatint and etching, 1927. 370x502 mm; 14⅝x19⅝ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 143/200 in pencil, lower left. Etched by Jacques Villon. Published by Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris. A very good impression with strong colors. Ginestet/Pouillon 652 (Villon).
Estimate
$20,000 – $30,000
Pablo picasso
Sculpteur et son Modèle devant une Fenêtre.
Etching, 1933. 193x267 mm; 7⅝x10½ inches, full margins. Edition of 260. Signed in pencil, lower right. Printed by Lacourière, Paris. Published by Vollard, Paris with the watermark. A superb, richly-inked impression.
One of 100 different etchings from the Vollard Suite, a series Picasso (1881-1973) produced from 1930 to 1937 and issued by the Parisian publisher Ambroise Vollard. While over 300 sets were printed, complete suites are exceedingly scarce, instead the prints from this series now are often found individually. Bloch 168; Baer 321.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Pablo picasso
Modèle et Grande Sculpture de Dos.
Etching and drypoint, 1933. 267x191 mm; 10½x7⅝ inches, full margins. Edition of 260. Signed in pencil, lower right. Vollard watermark. Printed by Lacourière, Paris. Published by Vollard, Paris. A superb, richly-inked and dark impression with strong contrasts and all the details distinct. Bloch 186; Baer 345.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Pablo picasso
Deux Buveurs Catalans.
Etching, 1934. 234x295 mm; 9¼x11⅝ inches, full margins. Edition of 260. Signed in pencil, lower right. Picasso watermark. Printed by Lacourière, Paris. Published by Vollard, Paris. A superb, richly-inked impression with strong contrasts.
In this iconic etching from the Suite Vollard, Picasso (1881-1973) contrasted two Catalan fishermen having a drink at a tavern, one young and naïve and etched only in outline, the other old and gnarled and expressed through the buildup of closely knit lines. Bloch 228; Baer 442.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Pablo picasso
Femme Nue Couronnée de Fleurs.
Etching, 1930. 315x220 mm; 12½x8¾ inches, full margins. Edition of 260. Signed in pencil, lower right. Picasso watermark. Printed by Lacourière, Paris. Published by Vollard, Paris. A superb, well-inked impression. Bloch 134; Baer 192.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Pablo picasso
Femme Torero, V.
Etching and aquatint, 1934. 238x297 mm; 9⅜x11⅝ inches, full margins. With the artist’s ink stamp signature, lower right, and numbered 8/50 in pencil, lower left. Published by Galerie Louis Leiris, Paris, 1961. A very good impression. Bloch 281; Baer 429.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Pablo picasso (after)
Tête de Femme (Dora Maar).
Color aquatint, circa 1943. 415x305 mm; 16¼x12 inches, full margins. Signed, numbered 42/50 and inscribed “Gravé et imprimé par R. Lacourière Paris ‘43” in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Lacourière, Paris. A superb, richly-inked impression of this very scarce print.
Estimate
$25,000 – $35,000
Pablo picasso
La Chèvre-Feuille: Visages.
Zincograph, 1943. 268x215 mm; 10⅝x8½ inches. Signed in blue crayon and numbered 4/16 in pencil, verso. Published by Robert J. Godet, Paris. From the same-titled suite. A very good impression of this extremely scarce print. Bloch 361 a; Baer 683 II B b 1.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Pablo picasso
La Chèvre-Feuille: Deux baigneuses.
Etching and zincograph, 1943. 274x220 mm; 10¾x8¾ inches, full margins. Second state (of 2). Artist’s proof, aside from the edition of 42 (Baer cites 9 artist’s proofs aside from the published edition of 42). Signed in blue pencil, lower right. Published by Robert J. Godet, Paris. From the same-titled suite. A very good impression of this extremely scarce print. Bloch 361; Baer 688 II A a.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Pablo picasso
Françoise.
Lithograph, 1946. 640x495 mm; 25¼x19⅝ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 31/50 in pencil, lower margin. A superb impression of this large, important lithograph.
Picasso (1881-1973) called Françoise Gilot (born 1921), his muse and mistress from 1943 to 1953 and the mother of their children, Claude and Paloma, “The Woman Who Says No,” as she alone among his many lovers dared to defy him and ultimately left him in the south of France. Françoise was born to a wealthy family in Neuilly-sur-Seine, her father was a businessman and her mother was an amateur artist. From an early age, Françoise yearned to be an artist like her mother, but her father forced her into studying law, which she ultimately abandoned after several failed attempts to resist her father’s control, by 1942 devoting her life to becoming an artist.
When their relationship began the following year she was 21–a neophyte in the art world–Picasso, who had just turned 61 years old, was among the most famous living artists alive at the time. Gilot put her artistic pursuits on hold (she eventually returned to them and established herself as an artist with some success from the 1960s onward) in place of raising their two children. She and Picasso fought frequently however, and by the early 1950s their relationship had dissolved, she separated from the artist and their home in the south of France and relocated with their children to Paris.
In this lithograph, from a series of 11 different versions Picasso made during June 1946, Picasso shows her with characteristic narrow, arching eyebrows, full lips and youthful visage. Picasso’s old friend Henri Matisse, who was fond of Gilot and found artistic inspiration in her feminine beauty as well, remarked that he would paint her with a pale blue body and leaf-green hair, which prompted Picasso to create La Femme-Fleur, 1946, another famous portrait of Françoise, hyper-stylized with a pale blue body and leaves for hair. Bloch 399; Mourlot 43; Reuße 150.
Estimate
$40,000 – $60,000
Pablo picasso
Le Chevalier et la Page.
Lithograph on Arches, 1951. 370x265 mm; 14⅝x10½ inches, full margins. Signed in multicolored pencil, lower right, and numbered 25/50 in pencil, lower left. A very good impression. Bloch 684; Mourlot 200; Reuße 564.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Pablo picasso
La Chèvre.
Aquatint and etching, 1952. 93x125 mm; 3⅝x5 inches, full margins. One of only 5 numbered hors commerce impressions, aside from the edition of 50. Signed, numbered IV/V and inscribed “H.C.” in pencil, lower margin. Published by Éditions de Beaune, Paris. From La Chèvre by André Verdet. A superb impression of this very scarce etching. Bloch 697; Baer 892.
Estimate
$15,000 – $20,000
Pablo picasso
Nature Morte au Pot de Grès.
Lithograph, 1947. 495x645 mm; 19⅝x25½ inches (sheet), full margins. Signed in red crayon and numbered 20/50 in pencil, lower left recto. Published by Mourlot, Paris. A very good impression of this scarce, early lithograph. Bloch 443; Mourlot 86; Reußé 215.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Pablo picasso
Vallauris Exposition 1956.
Color linoleum cut, 1956. 658x538 mm; 26x21⅛ inches, full margins. Edition of 200. Signed in red crayon, lower right. A very good impression with vibrant colors. Bloch 1271; Baer 1042; Czwiklitzer 19.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Pablo picasso
Four Dancers.
Partially glazed terre-de-faïence convex wall plaque painted in ivory, brown, and green, 1956. 250 mm; 10 inches (diameter). Edition of 450. With the Madoura Plein Feu and Empreinte Originale de Picasso stamps, verso. Ramié 313.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Pablo picasso
Flutist and Goat.
Partially glazed terre-de-faïence convex wall plaque painted in ivory, brown, and green, 1956. 260 mm; 10¼ inches (diameter). Edition of 450. With the Madoura Plein Feu and Empreinte Originale de Picasso stamps, verso. Ramié 382.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Pablo picasso
Square with Dancers B.
Terre-de-faïence tile, 1971. 150x150 mm; 6x6 inches. Numbered 56/500 in black, verso. With the Poinçon Original de Picasso and Madoura Plein Feu stamps verso. Ramié 615.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Pablo picasso and paul pierre lemagny
Portrait de Pablo Picasso and Remarqué for Témoignage.
Etching on Chine collé by Lemagny with drypoint remarqué by Picasso on Rives, 1956. 398x275 mm; 15⅝x10¾ inches, full margins. Edition of 65. Signed, dated and dedicated to Baqué de Sariac by Picasso in multicolored pencil, lower margin. A very good impression. Bloch 823; Baer 955a.
The dedicatee of this impression, Bernard Baqué de Sariac (1901-1986), was Picasso’s attorney for several litigations during the artist’s career, including the 1930 Calvert Affair and the 1960 legitimization of his children with Françoise Gilot.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Pablo picasso
Picador II.
Color lithograph, 1961. 210x270 mm; 8¼x10⅝ inches, full margins. Artist’s proof, aside from the edition of 50. Signed and inscribed “épreuve d’artiste” in pencil, lower margin. Published by André Sauret, Monte Carlo. From A los Toreros avec Picasso. A very good impression with strong colors. Bloch 1017; Mourlot 350; Reuße 788.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Georges braque (after)
Fleurs violets.
Color aquatint and etching, circa 1950. 475x295 mm; 18¾x11⅝ inches, full margins. Edition of 50. Signed and numbered XXXIII/L in pencil, lower margin. Printed and published by Crommelynck, Paris, with the blind stamp lower left. A very good impression with strong colors.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Georges braque (after)
Bouquet de fleurs jaunes.
Color lithograph, 1955. 305x197mm; 12x7¾ inches, full margins. The deluxe edition of 75, aside from the book edition. Signed and numbered 6/75 in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Mourlot, Paris. Published by Éditions de la revue Verve, Paris. From Verve, Revue Artistique et Litteraire, Volume VIII, numbers 31 et 32, Carnets Intimes de G. Braque. A very good impression with strong colors.
Estimate
$1,200 – $1,800
Georges braque
Si je mourais là-bas.
Color woodcut, 1962. 462x365 mm; 18¼x14½ inches (sheet), full margins. Signed and numbered 28/40 in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Féquet and Baudier, Paris. Published by Louis Broder, Paris. From the same-titled portfolio. A very good impression. Vallier 181.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Jacques villon
L’Oiseau.
Etching, 1921. 101x168 mm; 3⅞x6⅝ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 7/50 in pencil, lower margin. A superb, dark impression of this very scarce, early etching, with crisp, inky plate edges. Ginestet/Pouillon 293.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Henri matisse
Les Yeux Noirs.
Lithograph on Japanese paper, 1913. 448x324 mm; 19⅝x12¾ inches, wide margins. Initialed and numbered 43/50 in ink, lower right. A very good impression of this scarce, early lithograph. Duthuit 411.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Henri matisse
La blouse turque— Étude de jambes.
Lithograph on imitation Japan paper, 1925. 455x560 mm; 17¾x22⅛ inches (sheet), full margins. Signed and numbered 41/50 in pencil, upper right. A very good impression of this large, scarce lithograph. Duthuit 459.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Henri matisse
Nu couchée au visage incomplet— Étude de jambes.
Lithograph on imitation Japan paper, 1925. 455x560 mm; 18x22⅛ inches (sheet), full margins. Signed and numbered 39/50 in pencil, upper right. A very good impression of this large, scarce lithograph. Duthuit 462.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Henri matisse
Buste, robe fleurie.
Etching on Chine colle, 1929. 225x151 mm; 8⅞x6 inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 9/15 in ink, lower right. A very good impression of this extremely scarce etching.
Provenance: Henri Marie Petiet, Paris, with the ink stamp verso (Lugt 5031). Duthuit 137.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Henri matisse
Odalisque, brasero et coup de fruits.
Lithograph, 1929. 279x376 mm; 11x14¾ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 57/100 in pencil, lower right. A superb, well-inked impression. Duthuit 504.
Estimate
$15,000 – $20,000
Henri matisse
Teeny.
Linoleum cut, 1938. 303x229 mm; 11⅞x9 inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 58/100 in pencil, lower margin. Published by XXe Siècle, Paris. A very good, evenly-printed impression with strong contrasts. Duthuit 723.
Estimate
$6,000 – $9,000
Henri matisse
Études pour la Vierge, Visage.
Lithograph on Chine appliqué, 1950-51. 217x197 mm; 8⅝x7¾ inches, full (?) margins. Signed and numbered 63/100 in pencil, lower right. A very good impression. Duthuit 638.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Tsuguharu foujita
Petit Garçon en Chemise rayée.
Color etching and roulette on Chine collé on Japan paper, circa 1929. 345x257 mm; 13⅝x10⅛ inches, full margins. One of ten numbered artist’s proofs, aside from the edition of 100. Signed and numbered IX/X in pencil, lower margin. Published by Apollo Editions Artistiques, Paris. From Enfants. A very good impression.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Tsuguharu foujita
Fillette au Chat
Color etching on Chine collé on Japan paper, 1929. 345x265 mm; 13⅝x10½ inches, full margins. One of ten numbered artist’s proofs, aside from the edition of 100. Signed and numbered IX/X in pencil, lower margin. Published by Apollo Editions Artistiques, Paris. From Enfants. A very good impression with strong colors. Buisson 29.66.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Tsuguharu foujita
Chat brun.
Color etching and aquatint on imitation vellum, 1929. 355x285 mm; 14x11¼ inches, wide margins. The deluxe edition of 10 on imitation vellum, aside from the regular edition of 100 on Japan paper. Signed and numbered 6/10 in pencil, lower margin. Published by Apollo Editions Artistiques, Paris. A good impression of this scarce etching. Buisson 29.04
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Tsuguharu foujita
Nu assis.
Color drypoint and etching on Chine collé on Japan paper, 1930. 556x367 mm; 22x14½ inches, full margins. Edition of 100. Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by Apollo Editions Artistiques, Paris. From Femmes. A very good impression with all the details distinct. Buisson 30.35.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Tsuguharu foujita
Deux nus assis.
Color drypoint and etching on Chine collé on Japan paper, 1930. 560x373 mm; 22⅛x14¾ inches, full margins. One of 10 numbered hors commerce impressions, aside from the edition of 100. Signed and numbered “H.C. 9/10” in pencil, lower margin. Published by Apollo Editions Artistiques, Paris. From Femmes. A very good impression with all the details distinct. Buisson 30.36.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Tsuguharu foujita
Jeune Fille au Chat.
Color lithograph, 1959. 420x190 mm; 16½x7½ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 151/220 in pencil, lower margin. Printed by the Guilde de la Gravure, Geneva and Paris, with the blind stamp, lower left. Published by Pierre Cailler, Paris. A very good impression. Buisson 59.71.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Wassily kandinsky
Die Jagd.
Woodcut on thin Japan paper, 1903. 120x55 mm; 4¾x2⅛ inches, full margins. Artist’s proof, aside from the book edition. From “Les Tendances Nouvelles. A superb, richly-inked impression of this extremely scarce, early woodcut. Roethel 23.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Egon schiele
Bildnis Paris von Gütersloh.
Lithograph printed in brown on cream wove paper, 1918. 264x302 mm; 10⅜x11⅞ inches, wide margins. Edition of 125. Printed by Albert Berger, Vienna. Published by Avalun Verlag, Vienna. A very good impression of this scarce lithograph.
Albert Paris von Gütersloh (1887-1973) was an Austrian artist, actor, and producer, and friend of Schiele (1890-1918). Gütersloh wrote the first study of Schiele’s art in 1911 and became the subject of several of Schiele’s portraits.
This lithograph was commissioned by the Gesellschaft für vervielfältigende Kunst on March 6, 1918, though it was rejected on April 27 in favor of Mädchen (see Kallir 17). The few Bildnis Paris von Gütersloh impressions sold were stamped with the artist’s name and date and numbered. Eighty impressions of the 125 edition were included in the portfolio Das Graphische Werk von Egon Schiele, published by Rikola Verlag, Vienna, in 1922 and bear the artist’s signature stamp. Unsold lithographs and impressions not included in the portfolios, like the current work were left unstamped and sold individually. Kallir 16.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Emil nolde
Sklaven.
Etching, 1918. 315x203 mm; 12⅜x8 inches, full margins. Edition of approximately only 16. Signed in pencil, lower right. Printed by Kleinsorg, Copenhagen. A superb impression of this extremely scarce, early etching. Schiefler/Mosel 198.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Max pechstein
Weiblicher Akt.
Lithograph on Japan paper, 1916. 320x260 mm; 12¾x10¼ inches, full margins. Signed in pencil, lower right. A very good impression of this scarce, early lithograph.
We have found only 6 other impressions at auction in the past 30 years. Krüger 168.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Max beckmann
Der Ausrufer (Selbstbildnis).
Drypoint on Japan paper, 1921. 335x256 mm; 13¼x10⅛ inches, full margins. Second state (of 2). The deluxe edition of 75 on Japan paper, aside from the edition of 125 on wove paper. Signed in pencil, lower right. Printed by Franz Hanfstaengl, Munich. Published by Verlag der Marées Gesellschaft, R. Piper & Co., Munich, with the blind stamp lower right. From Der Jahrmarkt. A superb, richly-inked impression. Hofmaier 191.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Paul klee
Der Verliebte.
Color lithograph, 1923. 275x192 mm; 10⅞x7½ inches, full margins. Third state (of 3). Edition of 100. Signed in pencil, lower center. Printed and published by Staatliches Bauhaus, Weimar. From Meistermappe des Staatlichen Bauhauses. A superb impression of this scarce lithograph with strong colors.
Provenance: Alfred H. Barr Jr., founding director of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Renee M. Arb, the art critic and founder of University of Massachusetts Boston’s art department; thence by descent to the current owner, private collection New York.
The current impression of Der Verliebte, or The Lover was a gift from Alfred H. Barr, Jr. to the art critic and founder of University of Massachusetts Boston’s art department, Renee M. Arb, with whom he had a close relationship during the 1940s and 1950s. At the time of this gift, Arb had helped launch the career of painter de Kooning, capturing the essence of his artistic trajectory, and inducing Barr to begin acquiring the artist’s work for the MoMA. During her career, at ARTnews, Dr. Arb was credited with being the first to acknowledge Willem de Kooning’s work in 1948 in what his wife Elaine de Kooning recalled as a “prophetic” review of the artist’s first solo exhibition in New York. Kornfeld 94.
Estimate
$15,000 – $20,000
Lyonel feininger
Harzer Dorf I.
Woodcut, 1918. 176x185 mm; 6⅞x6¼ inches, full margins. Signed and titled “Dorf” in pencil, lower margin, and inscribed “Block destroyed” by Julia Feininger, the artist’s wife, in pencil, verso. A very good impression of this extremely scarce woodcut.
We have found only two other impressions at auction in the past 30 years. Prasse 62.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Lyonel feininger
Dreimaster mit flagge, 3 und Sonnenuntergang.
Woodcut, 1919. 80x90 mm; 3⅛x3½ inches, full margins. One of only several proofs. Signed in pencil, lower left, and with the artist’s work number “1912b” in pencil, lower center. A superb, richly-inked impression of this exceedingly scarce woodcut. Prasse 302.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Lyonel feininger
Segelboote (mit Mond).
Woodcut, 1919. 148x170 mm; 6x6¾ inches, full margins. Third state (of 3). The deluxe, signed edition of 100. Signed in pencil, lower left. Printed by Fritz Voigt, Berlin. Published by Gustav Kiepenheuer, Berlin. From Die Holzschnittbuch. A very good impression with strong contrasts. Prasse 183.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Lyonel feininger
Das Schiff (mit Sonne).
Woodcut, 1920. 160x171 mm; 6⅜x6¾ inches, full margins. From an intended edition of 50. Signed in pencil, lower left. Published by Euphorion Verlag, Berlin. From 10 Holzschnitte von Lyonel Feininger. A very good impression of this extremely scarce woodcut.
We have found only two other impressions at auction in the past 30 years.
Provenance: Estate of the artist, with the ink stamp and the work number “2005” in pencil, lower center margin. Prasse 198.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Lyonel feininger
Off the Coast.
Lithograph, 1951. 245x358 mm; 9x14⅛ inches, full margins. Second state (of 2). Edition of 250. Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by the Print Club of Cleveland, with the ink stamp (Lugt 2049b, verso). A very good, well-inked impression. Prasse 14.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Käthe kollwitz
Mutter mit Jungen.
Lithograph, 1933. 355x210 mm; 14x8¼ inches, full margins. Edition of approximately 100. Signed in pencil, lower right. A very good, richly-inked impression with strong contrasts. Klipstein 246; Knesebeck 258.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
George grosz
Two prints from Ecce Homo.
Gruss aus Sachsem * Louise. Both offset lithographs, 1922. Both 300x215 mm; 11⅞x8½ inches, full margins. Both from the deluxe edition of 50. Both signed in pencil, lower right. Published by Malik-Verlag, Berlin. Both good impressions. Dückers SI 5 and SI 20.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
George grosz
Two lithographs from Erste George Grosz-Portfolio.
Strasse in der Stadt. 260x373 mm; 10¼x14¾ inches, full margins. Signed in pencil, lower right * Vorstadt. 371x300 mm; 14¾x11¾ inches. Both 1916-17. Both from the deluxe edition of 120. Both signed in pencil, lower right. Published by Malik-Verlag, Berlin. Both good impressions. Dückers MI 4 and MI 6.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Joan miró
Oiseau Zéphyr.
Color lithograph, 1960. 345x530 mm; 13⅝x20⅞ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 19/100 in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Mourlot, Paris. Published by Maeght, Paris. A very good impression with strong colors. Mourlot 227.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Joan miró
Bagatelles végétales.
Complete set of 6 color etchings with aquatint on Moulin Richard de Bas Auvergne handmade paper, 1956. 234x370 mm; 9¼x14½ inches (sheets), full margins, loose with centerfolds as issued (lacking complete text). Edition of 33 printed on this paper, from a total edition of 311. Two of the etchings signed with the artist’s fingerprint in red and green inks. Printed by Atelier Lacourière, Paris. Published by Jean Aubier, Paris. Superb, richly-inked impressions with strong colors. Dupin 107-112.
Estimate
$12,000 – $18,000
Joan miró
Chemin de Ronde III.
Color aquatint and etching, 1966. 350x270 mm; 13¾x10¾ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 13/50 in pencil, lower margin. Printed and published by Maeght, Paris. A very good impression with strong colors. Dupin 413.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Joan miró
Le Prophète Encerclé.
Color aquatint and etching, 1965. 680x530 mm; 26¾x20¾ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 10/75 in pencil, lower margin. Printed and published by Maeght, Paris. A very good impression with vibrant colors. Dupin 396.
Estimate
$6,000 – $9,000
Joan miró
Oiseau Entre deux Astres.
Color aquatint, etching and carborundum, 1967. 695x565 mm; 27⅜x22¼ inches (sheet), full margins. Signed and numbered 27/75 in pencil, lower margin. Printed and published by Maeght, Paris. A very good impression of this large etching with strong colors. Dupin 429.
Estimate
$6,000 – $9,000
Joan miró
Le Soleil Ébouillanté.
Color etching, aquatint and carborundum, 1969. 988x595 mm; 38⅞x23½ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 8/75 in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Atelier Maeght, Saint-Paul. Published by Maeght Éditeur, Paris. A very good impression of this large print with strong colors. Dupin 518.
Estimate
$15,000 – $20,000
Joan miró
Fissures.
Color etching and aquatint, 1969. 485x580 mm; 19⅛x22⅞ inches (sheet), full margins. Signed and numbered 39/75 in pencil, lower margin. Printed and published by Maeght, Paris. From the same-titled suite. A very good impression. Dupin 476.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Joan miró
L’Illetré— Vert et Violet.
Color lithograph, 1969. 850x610 mm; 33¼x23⅞ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 43/75 in white pencil, lower margin. Printed and published by Maeght, Paris. A superb impression with vibrant colors. Mourlot 618.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Joan miró
Ubu aux Baléares.
Color lithograph, 1971. 503x660 mm; 20x26 inches (sheet), full margins. Artist’s proof, aside from the edition of 120. Signed and inscribed “EA” in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Mourlot, Paris. Published by Tériade, Paris. From the same-titled portfolio. A very good impression. Mourlot 766.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Joan miró
L’Enfance d’Ubu.
Color lithograph, 1975. 305x486 mm; 12x19¼ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 16/120 in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Mourlot, Paris. Published by Tériade, Paris. From the same-titled portfolio. A very good impression. Mourlot 1002.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Joan miró
Personnage Romantique.
Color aquatint and etching, 1975. 435x397 mm; 17⅛x15⅝ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 6/50 in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Morsang, Paris. Published by Maeght, Paris. A very good impression with strong colors. Dupin 748.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Joan miró
Enrajolats VI.
Color aquatint and etching, 1979. 400x520 mm; 15¾x20½ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 17/30 in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Joan Barbarà, Barcelona. Published by Maeght, Paris. A superb impression with strong colors. Dupin 1086.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Salvador dalí
Christ of St. John of the Cross.
Etching, 1951. 353x253 mm; 14x10 inches, full margins. Artist’s proof, aside from the edition of 150. Signed and inscribed “E.A.” in pencil, lower margin. Printed by LeBlanc, Paris. Published by Godet, Paris. From Manifests Mystique. A very good impression. Michler/Löpsinger 62; Field 51-1 A.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Salvador dalí
Judgment of Paris.
Color etching and drypoint, 1963. 500x400 mm; 19¾x15¾ inches, full margins. Signed, dated and numbered 20/150 in pencil, lower margin. Published by Pierre Argillet, Paris. From Mythologie. A very good impression. Michler/Löpsinger 123; Field 63-3 I.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Salvador dalí
Don Quichotte (Horseman).
Etching, 1964. 390x295 mm; 15½x11¾ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered “40/125 E” in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Ateliers Rigal, Fontenay-aux-Roses, Paris. Published by Graphic Art Consultants. A very good, well-inked impression. Michler/Löpsinger 99; Field 64-4 and page 237.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Salvador dalí
The Face in the Windmill.
Color lithograph, 1965. 513x667 mm; 20¼x26¼ inches, full margins. Artist’s proof, aside from the edition of 150. Signed in pencil, lower right. Published by Sidney Z. Lucas, New York. A very good impression of this large lithograph.
Provenance: Estate of Irwin Hollander, New York. Michler/Löpsinger 1146; Field 65-1.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Salvador dalí
Les Amours de Cassandre by Pierre de Ronsard.
Portfolio with complete text and 18 drypoints, 1968. 390x295 mm; 15½x11½ inches (sheets), full margins, loose as issued.
One of 100 numbered copies on Arches teinté, from a total edition of 299. Signed and dated in pencil and numbered 46 on the justification page. Published by Editions Argillet, Paris.
Original linen portfolio. Lacks the additional suite of drypoints printed in sanguine. Michler/Löpsinger 248-65; Field 68-2.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Salvador dalí
Memories of Surrealism.
Portfolio with 12 color etchings with photolithograph, 1971. 756x540 mm; 29¾x21¼ inches (sheets), full margins, loose as issued.
One of only 24 numbered artist’s proof sets, aside from the regular of 175. Each print signed and numbered “A XXIV/XXV” in pencil, lower margin and with the artist’s signature blind stamp, lower left. Signed in pencil and numbered “A/XXIV” on the justification page. Published by Transworld Art, New York.
Original black cardboard clamshell box. Superb impressions with vibrant colors. Michler/Löpsinger 494-505; Field 71-15 A-L.
Estimate
$10,000 – $15,000
Marc chagall
La lutte avec l’Ange.
Etching with hand coloring in watercolor, 1931-39. 297x240 mm; 11¾x9½ inches, full margins. Initialed and numbered 74/100 in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Haasen, Paris. The project initiated by Vollard and published by Tériade, Paris. From Bible. A very good impression. Vollard 214.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Marc chagall
Femme Oiseau.
Color lithograph, 1950. 430x560 mm; 17x22 inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 13/50 in pencil, lower margin. Published by Maeght, Paris. A good impression of this scarce lithograph. Mourlot 49.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Marc chagall
Vision de Paris.
Color lithograph, 1952. 355x542 mm; 14x21¼ inches (sheet), full margins. Signed and numbered 2/75 in pencil, lower margin. A very good impression of this early lithograph with strong colors. Mourlot 81.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Marc chagall
Bateau-Mouche Au Bouquet.
Color lithograph, 1960. 390x300 mm; 15⅜x11¾ inches, full margins. Artist’s proof, aside from the edition of 25. Signed and inscribed “epreuve d’artiste” in pencil, lower margin. Published by André Sauret, Paris. From Regards sur Paris. A superb impression with strong colors. Mourlot 352.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Marc chagall
Les Vendanges.
Color lithograph, 1961. 421x320 mm; 16½x12⅝ inches (sheet), full margins. Edition of 250. Printed by Mourlot, Paris. Published by Tériade, Paris. From Daphnis & Chloé. A very good impression with vibrant colors. Mourlot 322.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Marc chagall
Le Cirque.
Color lithograph, 1967. 423x650 mm; 16⅝x25½ inches (sheet), full margins. Edition of 250 numbered 122/250 in pencil, lower left. With the printed number “122” and the artist’s signature in ink on the included justification page. Printed by Mourlot, Paris. Published by Tériade, Paris. From the same-titled suite. A very good impression with strong colors. Mourlot 517.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Marc chagall
Le Cirque.
Color lithograph, 1967. 420x316 mm; 12⅝x16⅝ inches (sheet), full margins. Edition of 250. Printed by Mourlot, Paris. Published by Tériade, Paris. From the same-titled suite. A very good impression with vibrant colors. Mourlot 491.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Marc chagall
Le Cirque.
Color lithograph, 1967. 420x316 mm; 12⅝x16⅝ inches (sheet), full margins. Edition of 250. Printed by Mourlot, Paris. Published by Tériade, Paris. From the same-titled suite. A very good impression with vibrant colors. Mourlot 516.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Marc chagall
XXe Siècle, N° Spécial.
Color lithograph, 1973. 315x485 mm; 12⅜x19¼ inches, full margins. The deluxe edition of 50. Signed and numbered 31/50 in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Mourlot, Paris. Published by XXe Siècle, Paris. A very good impression with strong colors.
Printed for the special edition of XXe Siècle, Chagall Monumental. Mourlot 699.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Marc chagall
Le Peintre devant le Tableau.
Color lithograph, 1978. 408x313 mm; 16x12⅜ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 45/50 in pencil, lower margin. A very good impression. Mourlot 932.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Marc chagall (after)
Romeo and Juliet.
Color lithograph, 1964. 640x993 mm; 25¼x39⅛ inches, full margins. The deluxe edition, before letters. Signed and numbered 50/200 in pencil, lower right. Printed by Mourlot, Paris. Published by the French Tourist Bureau, Paris. A superb impression of this large, important lithograph with vibrant colors.
Chagall’s (1887-1985) exceptional career as a lithographer was greatly facilitated by his ongoing artistic collaboration with the master-printer Charles Sorlier of the Atelier Mourlot, Paris. Though Chagall made lithographs as early as the 1920s, his lithographic work blossomed from the 1950s onward, under the guidance of Sorlier. Sorlier became so familiar with Chagall’s work (and Chagall relied on Sorlier’s judgment to such an extent) that Sorlier created a number of prints in a style “after” Chagall, as interpretive designs of Chagall’s original paintings and gouaches. Sorlier 96.
Estimate
$20,000 – $30,000
Marc chagall (after)
Jerusalem Windows: The Tribe of Benjamin.
Color lithograph, 1964. 615x460 mm; 24¼x18⅛ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 50/150 in pencil, lower margin. Lithographed and printed by Charles Sorlier, Paris. Published by Mourlot, Paris. From Twelve Maquettes of Stained Glass Windows for Jerusalem. A very good impression with vibrant colors. Mourlot CS 23.
Estimate
$8,000 – $12,000
Marc chagall (after)
La Lutte de Jacob et de l’Ange.
Color lithograph, 1967. 520x408 mm; 20½x16 inches, full margins. Artist’s proof, aside from the edition of 100. Lithographed and printed by Charles Sorlier, Paris. A very good impression with vibrant colors.
Provenance: Galerie R.G. Michel, Paris, with the blind stamp lower right. Mourlot CS 40.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Alberto giacometti
Sculptures.
Lithograph, 1954. 651x498 mm; 25⅝x19⅝ inches, full margins. One of 6 numbered hors commerce impressions, aside from the edition of 30. Signed, inscribed “H.C.” and numbered 5/6 in pencil, lower margin. Published by Maeght, Paris. A very good impression of this scarce, early lithograph. Lust 14.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Alberto giacometti
Femme couchée.
Lithograph, 1960. 390x274 mm; 15½x11 inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 65/90 in pencil, lower margin. Published by Maeght, Paris. A very good impression of this scarce lithograph. Lust 34.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Alberto giacometti
Chaise et suspension.
Lithograph, 1965. 650x500 mm; 25⅝x19⅝ inches (sheet), full margins. Signed and numbered 38/75 in pencil, lower margin. Published by Maeght, Paris. A very good impression. Lust 359.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
Gino severini
Commedia dell’Arte.
Color lithograph, 1958. 655x507 mm; 25¾x20 inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 92/175 in pencil, lower margin. Published by L’Œuvre Gravée, Paris, with the blind stamp lower left. A very good impression with strong colors. Meloni 34.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Giogrio de chirico
I Gladiatori.
Lithograph with hand coloring in watercolor, 1973. 435x348 mm; 17⅛x13¾ inches, full margins. One of only several impressions with hand coloring, aside from the edition of 99. Signed in pencil and with the artist’s blind stamp, and inscribed “(colorata a mano)” in pencil, lower margin. Published by Alberto Caprini, Rome, with the blind stamp lower right. A very good impression with fresh colors. Brandani 174.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Henry moore
Two Women Bathing Child II.
Color lithograph, 1973. 369x422 mm; 14½x16⅝ inches, full margins. One of 25 numbered artist’s proofs, aside from the edition of 50. Signed, inscribed “AP” and numbered X/XXV in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Curwen Prints, Ltd., London. Published by Transworld Art, New York, with the blind stamp lower left. From An American Portrait 1776-1976. A very good impression. Cramer 310.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Henry moore
Sculptural Ideas V.
Color aquatint and etching, 1980. 251x346 mm; 9⅞x13⅝ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 30/50 in pencil, lower margin. Printed by 2 RC Editrice, Rome and Vigna Antoniana Stamperia d’Arte, Rome with the blind stamps lower left. Published by Raymond Spencer Company, Ltd., for The Henry Moore Foundation, Much Hadham. A very good, richly-inked impression of this scarce print with strong colors. Cramer 584.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Henry moore
Reclining Figure Idea for Metal Sculpture.
Color lithograph, 1982. 235x308 mm; 9¼x12⅛ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 30/50 in pencil, lower margin. Printed by J. E. Wolfensberger, Zurich. Published by Raymond Spencer Company, Ltd., for the Henry Moore Foundation, Much Hadham. A very good impression of this scarce lithograph with strong colors. Cramer 653.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Henry moore
Reclining Mother and Child with Grey Background.
Color lithograph, 1982. 546x753 mm; 21½x29⅝ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 22/50 in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Curwin Prints, Ltd., London. Published by Raymond Spencer Company, Ltd., for The Henry Moore Foundation, Much Hadam. A very good impression of this large lithograph. Cramer 655.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
Henry moore
Reclining Nude.
Color etching and aquatint, 1983. 186x238 mm; 7⅜x9⅜ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 2/75 in pencil, lower margin. From Sketchbook 1980. Printed by James Collyer and John Crossley, London. Published by Raymond Spencer Company, Ltd., London, for the Henry Moore Foundation, Much Hadham. A very good impression with strong colors. Cramer 670.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Man ray
Rope Dancer Accompanies Herself with her Shadows.
Color lithograph, 1972. 500x698 mm; 19⅝x27⅜ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 1/99 in pencil, lower margin. A very good impression with vibrant colors. Anselmino 26.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
Man ray
Rebus II.
Color lithograph, 1972. 593x510 mm; 23⅜x20 inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 101/120 in pencil, lower margin. A very good impression. Anselmino 3.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Maurits C. Escher, Prints from a Private American Collection
Maurits c. escher
Earth * Air * Fire * Water.
Set of 4 color woodcuts on wove paper with letterpress, 1952. 175x155 mm; 6¾x6¼ inches (sheets), full margins. Very good impressions.
The complete set of New Year’s greeting cards, commissioned by Eugène and Willy Strens for the following years: 1953-1956. Bool 382-385.
Estimate
$4,000 – $6,000
Maurits c. escher
Pentedattilo, Calabria.
Lithograph, 1930. 197x255 mm; 7¾x10 inches, wide margins. Signed and numbered 8/40 in pencil, lower left margin. A superb impression of this extremely scarce, early lithograph.
We have found only five other impressions at auction in the past 30 years.
Escher (1898-1972) was born in Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands, the son of a civil engineer. He was a sickly child and did poor academically, though at an early age he excelled at drawing. In 1918, he went to the Technical College of Delft. From 1919 to 1922, Escher attended the Haarlem School of Architecture and Decorative Arts, learning drawing and the art of making woodcuts. He briefly studied architecture, but he failed a number of subjects and switched to decorative arts.
In 1922, a watershed year of his life, Escher traveled through Italy, visiting Florence, San Gimignano, Volterra, Siena and Ravello. In the same year, he traveled through Spain, visiting Madrid, Toledo and Granada. He was impressed by the Italian countryside and, in Granada, by the Moorish architecture of the fourteenth-century Alhambra palace. The intricate decorative designs of the Alhambra, based on geometrical symmetries featuring interlocking repetitive patterns in the colored tiles or sculpted into the walls and ceilings, triggered his interest in the mathematics of tessellation (tiling with a repeated pattern) and became a powerful influence on his work.
Escher returned to Italy and lived in Rome from 1923 to 1935. While in Italy, he met Jetta Umiker–a Swiss woman, like himself attracted to Italy–whom he married in 1924. The couple settled in Rome where their first son, Giorgio (George) Arnaldo Escher, named after his grandfather, was born. Escher and Jetta later had two more sons–Arthur and Jan.
During the following decade, he traveled frequently, visiting (among other places) Viterbo in 1926, the Abruzzi in 1927 and 1929, Corsica in 1928 and 1933, Calabria in 1930, the Amalfi coast in 1931 and 1934, and Gargano and Sicily in 1932 and 1935. The townscapes and landscapes of these places feature prominently in his artworks, including the current lithograph and the proceeding six lots. In May and June 1936, Escher travelled back to Spain, revisiting the Alhambra and spending days at a time making detailed drawings of its mosaic patterns. It was here that he became fascinated, to the point of obsession, with tessellation, explaining, “It remains an extremely absorbing activity, a real mania to which I have become addicted, and from which I sometimes find it hard to tear myself away.” Bool 137.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Maurits c. escher
Cattolica of Stilo, Calabria.
Lithograph, 1930. 226x300 mm; 9x11¾ inches, full margins. Signed, numbered 4/40 and inscribed in pencil, lower margin. A very good impression of this extremely scarce lithograph.
According to Bool, when Escher traveled to Calabria, Italy, from April 28 to May 25, 1930, during which time he drew the current view, he was accompanied by a fellow artist friend, Roberto Schiess, who brought with him a zither to entertain the local people, and Jean Roussert, a young French historian, who dragged along with him a large camera. From Rome they took the train to Pizzo and followed the coast south, Bool continues, “As soon as they left the main road and entered the impoverished inland districts, they had to use mule tracks or dried-up river beds [to traverse the land]. From Pizzo they went via Tropea and Scilla to the southernmost tip of Calabria, Mélito. Here the trip began in earnest with a long walk along a river-bed to reach Pentedattilo, where they spent a few days. The first day Escher began drawing there, a praying mantis jumped onto his folder and stayed there immobile for such a long time that he was able to use it as a model. Five years later this praying mantis found an appropriate place in the wood engraving Dream. Bool 139.
Estimate
$6,000 – $9,000
Maurits c. escher
Santa Severina, Calabria.
Lithograph, 1931. 232x310 mm; 9⅛x12¼ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 24/40 in pencil, lower left margin. A very good impression of this extremely scarce lithograph.
We have found only other two impressions at auction in the past 30 years. Bool 144.
Estimate
$6,000 – $9,000
Maurits c. escher
(Cloister near) Rocca Imperiale, Calabria.
Lithograph, 1931. 232x308 mm; 9⅛x12⅛ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 36/40 in pencil, lower left margin. A very good impression of this extremely scarce lithograph.
We have found only three other impressions at auction in the past 30 years. Bool 145.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Maurits c. escher
Castel Mola (and Mount Etna), Sicily.
Lithograph, 1932. 225x310 mm; 8⅞x12¼ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 9/24 in pencil, lower left. A very good impression of this extremely scarce, early lithograph.
We have found only two other impressions at auction in the past 30 years. Bool 219.
Estimate
$12,000 – $18,000
Maurits c. escher
Cathedral of Cefalú, Sicily.
Lithograph, 1932. 226x283 mm; 8⅞x11⅛ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 23/24 in pencil, lower left. A superb good impression of this exceedingly scarce early lithograph.
We have not found another impression at auction in the past 30 years. Bool 220.
Estimate
$7,000 – $10,000
Maurits c. escher
Corsica, Calanche (Calanche of Piana, Corsica).
Lithograph, 1934. 308x207 mm; 12⅛x8⅛ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 25/26 in pencil, lower left. A very good impression of this extremely scarce, early lithograph.
We have found only one other impression at auction in the past 30 years. Bool 245.
Estimate
$5,000 – $8,000
Maurits c. escher
Encounter.
Lithograph, 1944. 342x464 mm; 13⅜x18¼ inches, wide margins. Signed in pencil, lower left. A superb, dark and well-inked impression with strong contrasts.
According to Bool, “After Escher had said goodbye to the south [Italy], his work took a direction that was eventually to lead to his becoming famous. From now on he was no longer concerned with expressing his observations–or only rarely–but rather with the construction of the images in his own mind. These images dealt with the regular division of the plane, limitless space, rings and spirals in space, mirror images, inversion, polyhedrons, relativities, the conflict between the flat and the spatial, and impossible constructions.” Bool 331.
Estimate
$12,000 – $18,000
Maurits c. escher
Three Spheres I.
Wood engraving on Japan paper, 1945. 279x169 mm; 11x6⅜ inches, full margins. Signed and inscribed “eigendruck” in pencil, lower margin. A superb, dark and evenly-printed impression of this very scarce print, with strong contrasts.
According to Bool, “In the woodcut Three Spheres I–which incidentally is a masterpiece of woodcutting skill–no spheres are depicted, but flat planes. The network of white ellipses suggests a spherical shape. In the top figure we see a frontal view of the flat plane; the three-dimensional suggestion is obvious here. The central figure has been cut from a sheet of drawing-paper on which the top figure is shown, and then folded over. The fold should hinder the illusion of space; but no, we immediately tun it into a three dimensional object. At the bottom Escher put another copy of the top figure, now lying ‘on the floor,’ but we refuse to believe this and we see it as an elongated egg.” Bool 336.
Estimate
$15,000 – $20,000
Maurits c. escher
Stars.
Wood engraving, 1948. 320x260 mm; 12½x10¼ inches, wide margins. Signed and inscribed “eigendruck” in pencil, lower margin. A very good impression of this extremely scarce print.
We have found only 16 other impressions at auction in the past 30 years.
The compound of three octahedra (a polyhedron with eight faces) used for the central cage in Stars had been studied before in mathematics, and Escher (1898-1972) likely learned of it from the book Vielecke und Vielflache by Max Brückner. Escher used similar compound polyhedral forms in several other works, including Crystal1947, Study for Stars, 1948, Double Planetoid, 1949 and Waterfall, 1961.
The design for Stars was likely influenced by Escher’s own interest in both geometry and astronomy, by a long history of using geometric forms to model the heavens, and by a drawing style used by Leonardo da Vinci. Commentators have interpreted the cage’s compound shape as a reference to double and triple stars in astronomy, or to twinned crystals in crystallography. The image contrasts the celestial order of its polyhedral shapes with the more chaotic forms of biology. Bool 359.
Estimate
$15,000 – $20,000
Maurits c. escher
Contrast (Order and Chaos).
Lithograph, 1950. 280x280 mm; 11x11 inches, full margins. Signed in pencil, lower left. A very good impression of this extremely scarce lithograph.
We have found only seven other impressions at auction in the past 30 years.
In the center of Contrast (Order and Chaos) is a perfectly symmetrical spatial figure: an almost transparent stellated dodecahedron that has been merged with a glass sphere. The object is surrounded by an assortment of broken and otherwise disorderly objects. The title is self-explanatory: the crystal represents order and discipline, whereas the objects around it symbolize chaos. In retrospect, perhaps Escher was sensing something when he made this lithograph. His fame began to soar in the 1950s, as would the chaos that fame brought his way. Bool 366.
Estimate
$15,000 – $20,000
Maurits c. escher
Plane Filling I.
Mezzotint, 1951. 146x195 mm 5¾x7¾ inches, full margins. Signed, inscribed “eigendruck” and numbered 50/50 in pencil, lower margin. A very good, richly-inked impression.
According to the Art Institute of Chicago, which holds another impression of this subject, “Escher became interested in mezzotint due to its tonal range, and printed eight editions in the medium between 1946 and 1951. Like many of Escher’s perceptually dizzying but impeccably calculated images, this black-and-white composition of interlocking fish, fowl, primitive nudes, and mythical beasts can be read in several ways. Its light and dark contrasts form an overall geometrical pattern, like a chessboard run amok, or a jigsaw puzzle writhing with mutating pieces. The creatures may not be far removed from Hieronymus Bosch’s Renaissance-era views of the underworld, but Escher’s claustrophobic, patterned landscape is also full of delight.” Bool 373.
Estimate
$20,000 – $30,000
Maurits c. escher
Puddle.
Color woodcut printed in green, brown and black on thin, cream laid Japan paper, 1952. 240x319 mm; 9½x12½ inches, wide margins. Signed and inscribed “eigendruck” in pencil, lower margin. A superb impression with strong colors.
Puddle is a realistic depiction of a simple image that portrays two perspectives at once. It depicts an unpaved road with a large pool of water in the middle of it at twilight. Turning the print upside-down and focusing strictly on the reflection in the water, it becomes a depiction of a forest with a full moon overhead. The road is soft and muddy and in it there are two distinctly different sets of tire tracks, two sets of footprints going in opposite directions and two bicycle tracks. Also in the image, Escher has thus captured three elements: water, sky and earth. Bool 378.
Estimate
$20,000 – $30,000
Maurits c. escher
Relativity.
Lithograph, 1953. 276x292 mm; 11x11½ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered “No. 2/20” in pencil, lower left. A superb impression of this extremely scarce lithograph.
We have found only eight other impressions at auction in the past 30 years.
According to Bool, “In a few astonishing prints Escher showed that zenith, nadir and distance points are only relative concepts.” The lithograph Relativity is one such image in which these concepts prove to be interchangeable. Relativity also depicts a world in which the normal laws of gravity do not apply. The architectural structure seems to be the center of an idyllic community, with most of its inhabitants casually going about their ordinary business, such as dining. There are windows and doorways leading to park-like outdoor settings. All of the figures are dressed in identical attire and have featureless bulb-shaped heads. In the world of Relativity, there are three sources of gravity, each being orthogonal to the two others. Each inhabitant lives in one of the gravity wells, where normal physical laws apply. There are sixteen characters, spread between each gravity source, six in one and five each in the other two. The apparent confusion of the lithograph comes from the fact that the three gravity sources are depicted in the same space. Bool 389.
Estimate
$40,000 – $60,000
Maurits c. escher
Convex and Concave.
Lithograph, 1955. 280x330 mm; 11x13¼ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered “No. 17/56 IV” in pencil, lower left. A superb, well-inked impression of this scarce lithograph with all the subtle tonal variations distinct.
According to Bool, a small model of a metal staircase painted white, which was a gift from his friend Professor Jan Arnoldus Schouten, a Dutch mathematician at the Delft University of Technology, inspired Escher (1898-1972) to create Convex and Concave. When it is viewed with one eye, the image of the staircase conjured up in the brain constantly changes. “When carefully studied, this print is a visual nightmare. At first glance, it seems to be a symmetrical structure: the left half is an approximate mirror image of the right half and the transition from left to right is gradual and very natural. Nevertheless something terrible happens at the transition in the center: everything is literally turned inside out. The top becomes the bottom, the front becomes the back. People, lizards and flowerpots rebel against the inversion; we identify them too clearly with tangible realities of which we do not know the inside-out form. But they, too, have to pay the price when they cross the borderline: their relation to the environment becomes so strange that looking at them makes you feel dizzy. For example, at the bottom left a man is climbing onto a platform by a ladder. He sees a small temple in front of him. He could stand next to the sleeping man and wake him up to ask why the shell-shaped pool in the middle is empty. Then he could go to the stairs on the right with the intention of walking up them. But it is already too late! What looked like stairs seen from the left, has suddenly turned into part of an arched vault. He would notice that the platform, which was once firm ground under his feet, is now a ceiling, and he would crash down with a terrified scream. The border line between the left and right half cannot be crossed without danger.” Bool 399.
Estimate
$20,000 – $30,000
Maurits c. escher
Bond of Union.
Lithograph, 1956. 254x338 mm; 10x13⅜ inches, full margins. Signed and numbered “No. 42/52 II” in pencil, lower left. A superb, richly-inked impression with strong contrasts.
According to Xu, “The built-up tension within the couple confused and frustrated Escher. In 1956, he created the lithograph, Bond of Union, possibly as a way to express the complex feelings of his relationship.
In the print, the heads of Escher and Jetta [his wife] are represented and broken up into one connected strap. The two heads are hovering in the void, surrounded by floating bubble-like globes. The facial expression is pensive, almost sad. It looks as if although the two figures are connected and inseparable, as their personalities are disintegrating and getting dissolved into the void. In a 1968 interview, Escher claimed this piece to be merely an experiment to show the concept of endlessness and a reaction to sculpture. However, he also wrote about this print, ‘Like an endless bond, even their foreheads are woven together, they form an inseparable entity. Whether these two are glad to be bound as a family together, I cannot tell. It is a perilous undertaking, and they look a little sad.’
This is one of the rare portraits Escher made after World War II. However, this piece is significantly different from his portraits of himself and of Jetta made more than thirty years earlier. The same faces now appear reserved and indifferent. The figures are facing towards each other but there is no shared eye contact, almost as if the couple is avoiding each other. Escher’s facial expression, contrary to his confident look shown in the early self-portrait, seems troubled and tired,” (The Hidden Emotions in M.C. Escher’s Artwork, Stockbridge, 2021). Bool 409.