18th Century and Earlier Art

Edition of 7

Father Stefan Fridolin, "Schatzbehalter" (Treasury of the True Riches of Salvation): The 30th Figure - Astrological Diagram with Scene of the Nativity Woodcut, 1491 Unsigned, as issued Published by Anton Koberger Diagram has Zodiac signs on outer ring, planets in the lower registers, and Nativity in the center. Condition: Very good for a 15h century woodcut, with the usual slight age stains Sheet size: 11 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches Wogelmut was the teacher of Albrecht Durer and employed young Durer in many project of the last decade of the 15th century. Michel Wolgemut Biography Wolgemut trained with his father Valentin Wolgemut (who died in 1469 or 1470) and is thought to have been an assistant to Hans Pleydenwurff in Nuremberg. He worked with Gabriel Malesskircher in Munich early in 1471, leaving the city after unsuccessfully suing Malesskircher's daughter for breach of contract, claiming she had broken off their engagement. He then returned to his late father's workshop in Nuremberg, which his mother had maintained since Valentin's death. In 1472 he married Pleydenwurff's widow and took over his workshop;[3] her son Wilhelm Pleydenwurff worked as an assistant, and from 1491 a partner, to Wolgemut. Some consider Wilhelm a finer artist than Wolgemut, however he died in January 1494, when he was probably still in his thirties. Wilhelm's oeuvre remains unclear, though works in various media have been attributed to him. Woodcuts Michael Wolgemut, Danse Macabre, 1493 Two large and copiously illustrated books have woodcuts supplied by Wolgemut and his stepson Wilhelm Pleydenwurff; both were printed and published by Germany's largest publisher, the Nuremberger Anton Koberger, who was also Dürer's godfather. The first is the Schatzbehalter der wahren Reichthumer des Heils (1491); the other is the Historia mundi, by Schedel (1493), usually known as the Nuremberg Chronicle...

"Nohubo remedio" (There was no remedy) - Etching and Aquatint on Paper Bold 3rd or 4th edition, circa 1868-1878, with burnished aquatints, drypoints etching, and engravings by Franc...

WILLIAM HOGRATH (1767- 1764) THE BATHOS / Tail Piece 1764 (Paulson 1989: 216 I/I Paulson 1965/70: 216 I/I) Engraving Plate 12 7/8 x 13 3/8, sheet 17 ¾ x 18 ¾ Designed & Engrav’d by Wm Hogarth at left and Published according to Act of Parliam’t March 3, 1764 at right. Good condition on thick laid paper Small bit of tape on the left & right sheet edges small stan lower sheet edge all on recto. This Hogarth’s last print is fascinating as it is prophacy about death. Various institutions have interesting commentaries - to wit: Chicago Art Institute: Hogarth created The Bathos toward the end of his life. It is considered one of the bleakest artworks of the 18th century because it depicts the Apocalypse without an afterlife. The Angel of Death even collapses in exhaustion after having destroyed the world. In his hand is an execution decree and around him lies a mass of broken objects. Princeton: Hogarth’s last print, The Bathos,….. is filled with all manner of images denoting the end of life as we know it. Entry no. 216 in Ronald Paulson’s catalogue raisonne Hogarth’s Graphic Works, 3rd revised edition says “This print is the culmination of such pessimistic images . . . . [taking] his general composition, the configuration of objects, and some of the particular items, from Dürer’s engraving, Melancholia; but he also recalls Salvator Rosa’s Democritus in Meditation (which derives from Dürer’s print) with a scroll at the bottom of the etching: ‘Democritus the mocker of all things, confounded by the ending of All Things’ (Antal, p.168).” Newfields (Indianapolis Museum of Art): Hogarth intended this engraving to serve as the tailpiece to bound volumes of his collected engravings and, appropriately, it proved to be his last engraving. Father Time has died and his last will and testament has been witnessed by the three Fates. He is surrounded by a landscape of death, decay, and ruin. Hogarth aimed this print at dealers in “dark” Old Masters paintings who promoted the idea that ruins evoked sublime feelings in viewers—a sentiment, Hogarth wrote, that was reducing the world to ruin. British Caricature...

"Campus Divi Petri qui est Basileae" (St. Peter's Platz in Basel) is a 17th century engraving by the old master engraver Matthäus Merian the Elder...

"Crucifixion" is an etching and aquatint, printed in brown ink by Conrad M. Metz after a painting by Daniele da Volterra. It was published in London in 1789 in 'Imitations Of Ancient...

This is a 16th century original hand-colored copperplate engraved map of a bird's-eye View of Embden, Germany entitled " Emuda, vulgo Embden vrbs Frisia orientalis primaria" by Georg Braun & Franz Hogenberg, in volume II of their famous city atlas "Civitates Orbis Terrarum", published in Cologne, Germany in 1575. This is a beautifully colored and detailed map of Emden, a seaport in northwestern Germany, along the Ems River and perhaps portions of over Dollart Bay, near the border with the Netherland. The map depicts a bird's-eye view of the city from the southwest, as well as a view of the harbor and an extensive system of canals. Numerous ships of various sizes, as well as two rowboats containing numerous occupants are seen in the main waterway in the foreground and additional boats line two canals in the center of the city. Two men and two women are shown on a hill in the foreground on the right, dressed in the 16th century style of nobility. Two ornate crests are included in each corner. A title strap-work cartouche is in the upper center with the title in Latin. The crest on the right including Engelke up de Muer (The Little Angel on the Wall) was granted by Emperor Maximilian I in 1495. This is an English translation of an excerpt of Braun's description of Embden: "In Emden, the capital of East Frisia, rich merchants live in very fine houses. The city has a broad and well-situated harbour, which in my opinion is unique in Holland. Frisia and the whole of the Netherlands, for the ships can anchor here right under the city walls. They have also extended the harbour as far as the New Town, so that up to 400 ships can now find shelter here when the sea is rough." The emphasis on the harbor and waterways within the city highlights the importance of Emden's place as a seaport at this time. Embden developed from a Dutch/Flemish trading settlement in the 7th-8th centuries into a city as late as late 14th century. In 1494 it was granted staple rights, and in 1536 the harbour was extended. In the mid-16th century Emden's port was thought to have the most ships in Europe. Its population then was about 5,000, rising to 15,000 by the end of the 16th century. The Ems River flowed directly under the city walls, but its course was changed in the 17th century by the construction of a canal. Emden has canals within its city limits, a typical feature of Dutch towns, which also enabled the extension of the harbor. In 1744 Emden was annexed by Prussia and is now part of Germany. It was captured by French forces in 1757 during the Seven Years' War, but recaptured by Anglo-German forces in 1758. During the Napoleonic French era, Emden and the surrounding lands of East Frisia were part of the short-lived Kingdom of Holland. References:Van der Krogt 4, 1230, State 2; Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg...

Portrait of Nobleman is a Pencil and Pastel Drawing realized by an unknown artist of late 18th century. Good condition on a little yellowed paper...

De Humana Physiognomonia - Libri IIII Original Title: Io: Bap-tistae Portae Neapolitani. De Hum. Physiognomonia. Libri IIII. Ad Aloysium Card. Estensem Vici Aequensis, Apud Iosephum Cacchium, 1586. Vol. In-4° / cm. 32x22 272 pp (typographic mystake for page 265 indicated as 272 an vice-versa) Circulation: Rare First Edition Format: In-4° Pages: 272 Cover on ancient parchment, with title in ink (ancient calligraphy) on spine and “archivistic” decorations in leather and rope on same spine. Binding restored using original contemporary cover. Frontispiece fully engraved with portrait of author within an imaginary composition; portrait of Cardinale d’Este, whom the work is dedicated to, follows with full page engraving. Includes 85 engravings 4 of which full page, showing human physiognomies compared to animals’ in order to demonstrate the relationship between physical aspects and moral features. Good and clean copy, in a nice state. Black stain on p. 97 and minor tear on p. 198. Some whitening on 3-4 pages which do no affect reading. Rare first edition of a pillar of modern anthropology, and one of the most popular essays of Italian Renaissance, with important influence during the following 300 years. First book to be printed in Vico Equense...

Hermann Kätelhön (German, * 22. September 1884, Hofgeismar; † 24. November 1940, München) Coal Miners • Woodcut, sheet measures ca. 55 x 40 cm • The sheet is mounted (fixed at the...

The present is one of the many prints John Thomas Smith produced of English cottages and vernacular architecture. This example, a view of a cottage in Edmonton, is closely related to...

This framed 18th century etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi is entitled "Dimostransi nella Tav. presente la Pianta, ed Elevazione del Ponte, oggi detto Quattro Capi egli è antichissimo, e chiamavasi Fabrizio da L. Fabrizio Presid. delle Strade, che lo fabbrico' nel fine della Repubblica. "(The Plan and Elevation of the Bridge, today called Quattro Capi. The architect is very ancient, and was called Fabrizio da L. Fabrizio Presid. delle Strade, who built it at the end of the Republic). This is plate 18 in volume 4 of Piranesi's "Le antichita romane opera di Giambatista Piranesi architetto veneziano" (Roman antiquities by Giambatista Piranesi Venetian architect). It was published in Rome in 1756-1757. This etching depicts the plan and elevation of the bridge now called the Ponte dei Quattoro Capi or Ponte Cestio (Bridge of the Four Heads), which in antiquity was called the Bridge of Fabricius after L. Fabricius, the Superintendant of the Streets who built it at the end of the Republic, around 62 BC. It was also been known in the Middle Ages as ‘Ponte Giudeo’ (Bridge of the Jews). The bridge crossed from the left bank or northeast side of the Tiber River to Tiber Island...