Master of the Die

A Panel of Ornament, Putti Standing on Cornucopia in Lower Section

!530-60

Religious copper-line engraving by CM after Francesco Petrucci after (Paolo Caliari) Veronese. Depicts Saint Benedict and other holy figures. Paolo Vero...

"Veduta del Sepolcro della Famiglia Plauzia per la Strada Che Conduce da Roma a Tivoli vicino a Ponte Lugano" from "Le Antichità Romane" (Roman Antiquities), one of the most famous works by Piranesi. "Antichita" illustrates the tombs along the Appian Way...

This 17th century hand-colored engraving of a lemon entitled "Limon Lavrae", plate 219 from Giovanni Baptista Ferrari's publication "Hesperides, sive, De Malorum Aureorum Cultura Etu...

A hand-colored copperplate engraving entitled "Leucoium bulbosum autumnale tenufolium (Autumn Snowflake); Colchicum vulgare Polyanthos; Colchicum biflorum; Colchicum vulgare album; C...

A 17th century hand-colored copper plate engraving entitled "Caryophyllus Maior Sylve Strisvarie Gatus" (Wood Pink & Cottage Pink Flowers) from Basilius Besler's landmark work, Hortus Eystettensis (Garden at Eichstatt), first published in 1613 in Eichstatt, Germany near Nuremberg and later in 1640 and 1713. This engraving is presented in a silver and gold-colored wood frame with a green edge and three elaborate cream-colored French mats...

The two plates in this set were created utilizing both engraving and etching techniques by William Hogarth in 1753, originally as illustrations of his book on aesthetics, entitled "Analysis of Beauty". Due to their popularity, these plates were later published separately. The publication line in the lower right reads: "Designed, Engraved, and Publish'd by Wm. Hogarth, March 5th 1753, according to Act of Parliament." Hogarth's original copper plates were refurbished where needed by James Heath and engravings were republished in London in 1822 by Braddock, Cradock & Joy. This was the last time Hogarth's copper plates were used for printing. Most were melted during World War I for the construction of bombs. These large folio sized "Analysis of Beauty" engravings are presented in antiqued gold-colored frames with double mats; the outer silk mats are light brown-colored and the inner mats are dark brown. Each frame measures 27.38" x 31.25" x 1.13". There is one tiny spot in the right margin of plate 1 and another in the lower margin; the latter could be from the printing process. The prints are otherwise in excellent condition. The "Analysis of Beauty" series is in the collection of many major museums, including: The British Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Tate Museum, The Chicago Art Institute and The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. The first engraving (Plate 1) depicts a courtyard of statues which is filled with some of the most famous works of classical sculpture. The most important sculptures are surrounded by less impressive works. The Medicean Venus (#13) is in the center with a statue of Julius Caesar (#19) to the right, elevated on a pulley with a short, overdressed Brutus stands over the falling Caesar. The Apollo Belvedere (#12) is next. A judge stands to the right with his foot on a cherub (#16). Another crying cherub holds a gallows and wipes his tears with the judge's robe. A sphinx (#21) and the drunken Silenus (#107) are below the Venus. Michaelangelo's torso (#54) and a statue of Antonius (#6) are seen in the foreground. The Farnese Hercules (#3) and a bust of another Hercules (#4) under two statuettes of Isis are also included in the scene. The key to these objects is included in the form of a serpentine line winding around a cone (#26), Hogarth's "Line of Beauty". For Hogarth the winding line is an essential element of beauty in art. Hogarth's theory of beauty is communicated in this plate. Plate 2 is thought to represent the Wanstead Assembly, with the Earl of Tynley and his household. It is an adaptation of a scene in the Happy Marriage series, which complements Hogarth's Marriage à la Mode...

Artist: Benjamin Cole (English, c. 1697-1783) Title: "A View of the House of Commons" Portfolio: The History and Survey of London from its Foundation to the Present Time Year: 1756 (...

Artist: Francis Drake (English, 1696-1771) Title: "William the Conqueror Giving a Charter to his Nephew Alan Earl of Britain" (Plate 12) Portfolio: Eboracum: or The History and Antiquities of the City of York Year: 1736 (First edition) Medium: Original Engraving on watermarked light laid paper Limited edition: Unknown Printer: William Bowyer...

Artist: Jean Berain (the Elder) (French, 1640-1711) Title: "Untitled" (Plate 35) Portfolio: Ornemens Inventez par J. Berain (Ornament Designs Invented by J. Berain) Circa: 1711 (Firs...

Artist: Sir William Dugdale (English, 1605-1686) Title: "Tree, Exhibiting the Various Congregations of the Benedictine Order" Portfolio: Monasticon Anglicanum: A History of the Abbie...