- New
Samson and Delilah
| Reference: | S44011 |
| Author | Lucas van LEYDEN |
| Year: | 1507 ca. |
| Measures: | 200 x 285 mm |
€5,800.00
- New
| Reference: | S44011 |
| Author | Lucas van LEYDEN |
| Year: | 1507 ca. |
| Measures: | 200 x 285 mm |
€5,800.00
Description
Engraving, c. 1507, monogrammed in plate at lower center.
Example of the first or second variant described by Filedt Kok (New Hollstein a-b/c).
Magnificent proof, printed on virgin paper with “Jug” watermark (Briquet 12612, The New Hollstein, Watermarks, Jug 1-2, the date between 1506 and 1517), trimmed to copper, slight horizontal printing crease in center, otherwise in excellent condition.
This scene captures the moment when the biblical Jewish hero Samson falls victim to his traitor Delilah, who cuts off his long hair-the secret of his strength-while he sleeps.
Lucas van Leyden was among the initiators in the development of printing in early sixteenth-century Europe. It is absolutely remarkable that he created this engraving when he was still a teenager, at the age of about 13. Lucas, who had always been interested in the theme of women's power over men (he would devote a cycle of woodcuts to this subject), depicts in this work a resolute Delilah and a Samson who, despite being asleep, is troubled by betrayal. Noting then a marked advance in his technique, he depicts the scene in its moment of greatest tension. Delilah, the Philistine with whom Samson had fallen in love, was bribed by her compatriots who wanted to find out where Samson's strength came from. The latter, after he had evaded Delilah's questions three times, revealed to her that the secret of his strength was in the hair he had never cut since birth. Delilah then put him to sleep and cut off his hair, leaving him helpless in the hands of the Philistines.
Beautiful copy, in contemporary issue as indicated by the watermark, of this early masterpiece by Lucas van Leyden. Rare work.
Bibliografia
Hollstein; Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts c.1450-1700 (77.25.I/II); Filedt Kok, The New Hollstein: Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts 1450-1700, 25 a-b/c; C. Le Blanc, Manuel de l'amateur d'estampes, contenant un dictionnaire des graveurs de toutes les nations : ouvrage destiné à faire suite au Manuel du libraire par J.Ch. Brunet / Ch. Leblanc, p. 85.
Lucas van LEYDEN (Leida 1494 - 1533)
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Named either Lucas Hugensz or Jacobsz, was a Dutch engraver and painter, born and mainly active in Leiden, who was among the first Dutch exponents of genre painting and is generally regarded as one of the finest engravers in the history of art. He was the pupil of his father, whose works are unknown, and of Cornelis Engelbrechts. They were both painters whereas Lucas himself was principally an engraver. Where he learnt engraving is unknown, but he was highly skilled in that art at a very early age: the earliest known print by him (Mohammed and the Murdered Monk) dates from 1508, when he was perhaps only 14, yet reveals no trace of immaturity in inspiration or technique.
In 1514 he entered the Painters' Guild at Leiden. He seems to have travelled a certain amount, and visits are recorded to Antwerp in 1521, the year of Dürer's Netherlandish journey, and to Middelburg in 1527, when he met Gossaert. An unbroken series of dated engravings makes it possible to follow his career as a print-maker and to date many of his paintings, but no clear pattern of stylistic development emerges. Dürer was the single greatest influence on him, but Lucas was less intellectual in his approach, tending to concentrate on the anecdotal features of the subject and to take delight in caricatures and genre motifs. Carel van Mander characterizes Lucas as a pleasure-loving dilettante, who sometimes worked in bed, but he left a large oeuvre, in spite of his fairly early death, and must have been a prodigious worker.
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Lucas van LEYDEN (Leida 1494 - 1533)
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Named either Lucas Hugensz or Jacobsz, was a Dutch engraver and painter, born and mainly active in Leiden, who was among the first Dutch exponents of genre painting and is generally regarded as one of the finest engravers in the history of art. He was the pupil of his father, whose works are unknown, and of Cornelis Engelbrechts. They were both painters whereas Lucas himself was principally an engraver. Where he learnt engraving is unknown, but he was highly skilled in that art at a very early age: the earliest known print by him (Mohammed and the Murdered Monk) dates from 1508, when he was perhaps only 14, yet reveals no trace of immaturity in inspiration or technique.
In 1514 he entered the Painters' Guild at Leiden. He seems to have travelled a certain amount, and visits are recorded to Antwerp in 1521, the year of Dürer's Netherlandish journey, and to Middelburg in 1527, when he met Gossaert. An unbroken series of dated engravings makes it possible to follow his career as a print-maker and to date many of his paintings, but no clear pattern of stylistic development emerges. Dürer was the single greatest influence on him, but Lucas was less intellectual in his approach, tending to concentrate on the anecdotal features of the subject and to take delight in caricatures and genre motifs. Carel van Mander characterizes Lucas as a pleasure-loving dilettante, who sometimes worked in bed, but he left a large oeuvre, in spite of his fairly early death, and must have been a prodigious worker.
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