Lucas & Cornelius de Wael
| Reference: | S7526 |
| Author | Wenzel HOLLAR |
| Year: | 1646 |
| Measures: | 220 x 295 mm |
€200.00
| Reference: | S7526 |
| Author | Wenzel HOLLAR |
| Year: | 1646 |
| Measures: | 220 x 295 mm |
€200.00
Description
Etching and engraving, circa 1645, signed on plate at lower edge.
A fine impression, printed on contemporary laid paper, with margins, very good condition.
From Icones principum, virorum, doctorum, pictorum, chalcographorum by Anton van Dyck, printed for the first time in Antwerp, 1645.
A famous and important work, a real monument of the Flemish engraving art of the XVIII century, containing the biographies and portraits of the famous artists Van Dyck had met and with whom he had worked.
Following the success of his portrait paintings and in the tradition of Italian and Flemish portrait series, Van Dyck decided to organise a print publication containing portraits of the most prominent men during his lifetime, divided into three categories: princes, politicians and soldiers (16), statesmen and scholars (12), artists and art connoisseurs (52).
The initial idea could have been that Van Dyck would etch the faces (a process possibly learnt from Vorsterman) while others would finish the plates in engraving. Designs were needed for the plates and several drawings and oil sketches (grisailles, sometimes in different versions) have survived. Van Dyck only etched 17 plates himself, while he commissioned others to complete the set, overseen by Lucas Vorsterman I (especially after Van Dyck settled in England in the Spring of 1632). Although this project was started by Van Dyck around 1630, he never saw it completed.
The Antwerp publisher Maarten van den Enden may have been involved from the start as eighty early impressions bear Van den Enden's address. They are engraved by Paulus Pontius (30 plates), Lucas Vorsterman I (22), Pieter de Jode II (12), Schelte a Bolswert (7), Robert van Voerst (4), Willem Hondius (2), Willem Jacobsz Delff (1), Cornelis Galle (1), and Nicolaes Lauwers (1). It is known that Van den Enden was in debt to Gillis Hendricx around 1644, the Antwerp publisher who must have obtained Van den Enden's plates which he published in 1645 in the first edition of these plates (containing between 100 and 104 portrait plates).
Hendricx continued to publish these plates until his death in 1677 when they were auctioned off by the St Luke guild (keeping the Iconography plates together). It is not clear who bought these plates but they re-appeared around 1720 when they were published by Hendrick and Cornelis Verdussen in Antwerp.
Wenzel HOLLAR (Praga 1607 – Londra 1677)
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Wenceslaus Hollar (23 July 1607 – 25 March 1677) was a prolific and accomplished Bohemian graphic artist of the 17th century, who spent much of his life in England. He is particularly noted for his engravings and etchings. He was born in Prague, died in London, and was buried at St Margaret's Church, Westminster. After his family was ruined by the Sack of Prague in the Thirty Years' War, the young Hollar, who had been destined for the legal profession, decided to become an artist. The earliest of his works that have come down to us are dated 1625 and 1626; they are small plates, and one of them is a copy of a "Virgin and Child" by Dürer, whose influence upon Hollar's work was always great. In 1627 he was in Frankfurt where he was apprenticed to the renowned engraver Matthäus Merian. In 1630 he lived in Strasbourg, Mainz and Koblenz, where Hollar portrayed the towns, castles, and landscapes of the Middle Rhine Valley. In 1633 he moved to Cologne. It was in 1636 that he attracted the notice of the famous nobleman and art collector Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, then on a diplomatic mission to the imperial court of Emperor Ferdinand II. Employed as a draftsman, he travelled with Arundel to Vienna and Prague. In Cologne in 1635, Hollar published his first book. In 1637 he went with Arundel to England, where he remained in the earl's household for many years. Hollar was one of the best and most prolific artists of his time. His work includes some 400 drawings and 3000 etchings. Hollar produced a variety of works. His plates number some 2740, and include views, portraits, ships, religious subjects, heraldic subjects, landscapes, and still life in many different forms. Hollar was known for his topographical works and his maps. These were often made after designs by other artists. He made a few maps of military engagements which were drawn by the Flemish artist and cartographer Jacob van Werden.
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Wenzel HOLLAR (Praga 1607 – Londra 1677)
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Wenceslaus Hollar (23 July 1607 – 25 March 1677) was a prolific and accomplished Bohemian graphic artist of the 17th century, who spent much of his life in England. He is particularly noted for his engravings and etchings. He was born in Prague, died in London, and was buried at St Margaret's Church, Westminster. After his family was ruined by the Sack of Prague in the Thirty Years' War, the young Hollar, who had been destined for the legal profession, decided to become an artist. The earliest of his works that have come down to us are dated 1625 and 1626; they are small plates, and one of them is a copy of a "Virgin and Child" by Dürer, whose influence upon Hollar's work was always great. In 1627 he was in Frankfurt where he was apprenticed to the renowned engraver Matthäus Merian. In 1630 he lived in Strasbourg, Mainz and Koblenz, where Hollar portrayed the towns, castles, and landscapes of the Middle Rhine Valley. In 1633 he moved to Cologne. It was in 1636 that he attracted the notice of the famous nobleman and art collector Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, then on a diplomatic mission to the imperial court of Emperor Ferdinand II. Employed as a draftsman, he travelled with Arundel to Vienna and Prague. In Cologne in 1635, Hollar published his first book. In 1637 he went with Arundel to England, where he remained in the earl's household for many years. Hollar was one of the best and most prolific artists of his time. His work includes some 400 drawings and 3000 etchings. Hollar produced a variety of works. His plates number some 2740, and include views, portraits, ships, religious subjects, heraldic subjects, landscapes, and still life in many different forms. Hollar was known for his topographical works and his maps. These were often made after designs by other artists. He made a few maps of military engagements which were drawn by the Flemish artist and cartographer Jacob van Werden.
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