Pietro Fontana

Bust of M. Agrippa - by G. Foto After B. Nocchi - 1821

1821

Etching from the series titled "A Harlots Progress" by William Hogarth. The series consists of six paintings and engravings. The story is about a woman named M. Hackabout who arrived in London and started working as a prostitute. The third plate is of her getting arrest for her choice in profession. The series is a satirical story that emphasizes the dangers of being a prostitute and the health risks that come from it. In 18th century engraving, the detail of the black mole on women and men's face is a symbol of the deadly venereal disease, syphilis. In this plate, Hackabout has already contracted the disease and that is why the black dot is visible on her forehead as well as her madam's. In 1828, William Innell Clement published Harlot's Progress in columns on a single page of his newspaper Bell's Life in London #330. The detail with the cross seen in earlier reproductions of the engraving. Dimensions without Frame: H 14.5 in x W 16.5 in. Artist Biography: William Hogarth ( 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic, and editorial cartoonist. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects", perhaps best known to be his moral series A Harlot's Progress, A Rake's Progress and Marriage A...

Artist: (after) Johann Daniel Preissler (German, 1666-1737) Title: "Vespera; Der Abend (Evening; The Evening)" Portfolio: Die Vier Tageszeiten (The Four Times of Day) Year: 1723 Medium: Original Etching and Engraving on laid paper Limited edition: Unknown Printer: likely Johann Balthasar Probst, Augsburg, Germany Publisher: Jeremias Wolff (Erben), Augsburg, Germany Reference: Le Blanc No. 255, 38; Nagler No. 23 Sheet size: 22.5" x 16.63" Image size: 17.38" x 13.63" Condition: Soft handling creases and folds to sheet. Some scattered foxmarks in left margin. Two small tears skillfully repaired from verso in margins. Has been professionally stored away for decades. It is otherwise a strong impression in good condition with full margins Extremely rare Notes: Provenance: private collection - Aspen, CO. Engraved by German artist Johann Balthasar Probst (1673-1750) after a drawing by German artist Johann Daniel Preissler (1666-1737). Comes from Preissler's 1723 "Die Vier Tageszeiten (The Four Times of Day)" portfolio of four etchings and engravings. Printed from one copper plate in one color: black. Descriptions of the portrayed image are printed in Latin and German. Biography: Johann Daniel Preissler, or Preisler (1666–1737) was a German painter and director of Nuremberg's Academy of Fine Arts. He was a notable member of a German artistic family, originating in Bohemia. His children included Johann Justin Preissler (1698–1771), Georg Martin Preisler (1700–1754), Barbara Helena Preisler (1707–1758; married to Oeding), Johan Martin Preisler (1715–1794), and Valentin Daniel Preisler (1717–1765), all in their time renowned artists. Most notable for his portraits, nudes and history paintings, Johann Daniel Preissler also produced drawings and frescoes. He was particularly known beyond his native Nuremberg for his "Die durch Theorie erfundene Practic", a sequence of works on art theory – the individual works were translated into several other languages and served as textbooks for students such as the Swiss Salomon Gessner...

Artist: (after) Johann Daniel Preissler (German, 1666-1737) Title: "Aurora sive Tempus Matutinum; Der Wohl und Übel angewandte Morgen (Dawn or Morning Time; The Morning Used for Better or For Worse)" Portfolio: Die Vier Tageszeiten (The Four Times of Day) Year: 1723 Medium: Original Etching and Engraving on laid paper Limited edition: Unknown Printer: likely Johann Balthasar Probst, Augsburg, Germany Publisher: Jeremias Wolff (Erben), Augsburg, Germany Reference: Le Blanc No. 255, 38; Nagler No. 23 Sheet size: 22.57" x 16.38" Image size: 17.75" x 14" Condition: Soft handling creases, folds, and scattered faint areas of discoloration to sheet. Three tears skillfully repaired from verso. Has been professionally stored away for decades. It is otherwise a strong impression in good condition with full margins Extremely rare Notes: Provenance: private collection - Aspen, CO. Engraved by German artist Johann Balthasar Probst (1673-1750) after a drawing by German artist Johann Daniel Preissler (1666-1737). Comes from Preissler's 1723 "Die Vier Tageszeiten (The Four Times of Day)" portfolio of four etchings and engravings. Printed from one copper plate in one color: black. Descriptions of the portrayed image are printed in Latin and German. Biography: Johann Daniel Preissler, or Preisler (1666–1737) was a German painter and director of Nuremberg's Academy of Fine Arts. He was a notable member of a German artistic family, originating in Bohemia. His children included Johann Justin Preissler (1698–1771), Georg Martin Preisler (1700–1754), Barbara Helena Preisler (1707–1758; married to Oeding), Johan Martin Preisler (1715–1794), and Valentin Daniel Preisler (1717–1765), all in their time renowned artists. Most notable for his portraits, nudes and history paintings, Johann Daniel Preissler also produced drawings and frescoes. He was particularly known beyond his native Nuremberg for his "Die durch Theorie erfundene Practic", a sequence of works on art theory – the individual works were translated into several other languages and served as textbooks for students such as the Swiss Salomon Gessner...

St. Simon from "Les Grands Apôtres Debout, Représentant Le Sauveur, La Bienheureuse Marie et Les Saints Apôtres" Original 17th Century Etching by Jacques Callot. This portrait of St. Simon depicts him standing in a street, holding a book and leaning on a saw. The saw is typical of St. Simon's depictions as he was said to have been martyred by being sawed in half. Very good impression of this print, with bold lines and high contrast. This leaflet contains the words "Callot fec." in the bottom right, shorthand for the Latin fecit, meaning Callot made this. This edition contains no publishers mark or numbering on the piece, indicating that it is from the first printing state. Jacques Callot was born in the Duchy of Lorraine around 1592 to an important family in the court. He started an apprenticeship as a goldsmith at the age of 15, but later began learning etching. He is known for his technical skill in etching and for developing the echoppe style etching needle. Callot's etchings featured religious figures as well as soldiers, common people, beggars, and court individuals. His series "The Miseries and Misfortunes of War," published while Lorraine was invaded during the Thirty Years War, later influenced Goya's "Los Desastres de la Guerra...

This is a framed 18th century Giovanni Battista Piranesi etching entitled: "Veduta interna del Sepocro di Santa Costanza, fabbricat...

This large framed 18th century etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi entitled "Veduta della Basilica di S. Lorenzo fuor della mura" (Basilica of San Lorenzo Outside the Walls), published in Rome in 1750 in Piranesi's Vedute di Roma (Views of Rome), This etching depicts the Basilica of San Lorenzo Outside the Walls, which is a Roman Catholic papal basilica and parish church, located in Rome, Italy. The Basilica is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and one of the five "papal basilicas". It was built as a shrine to the martyred Roman deacon St. Lawrence. This Piranesi etching is held by many museums and institutions, including: The Metropolitan Museum, The British Museum, The National Gallery of Art, The Yale University Art Gallery, and The Harvard Museum of Art. This magnificent etching is presented in a brown-colored wood frame and a tan French...

This early 19th century etching entitled "Veduta degl' Avanzi delle Torri di Belisario Dalla parte che guarda l' Interno della Città, vicino a Porta S. Giovanni, A. Mura Aureliane" (...

"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...

"Rovina della gran Basilica di S. Paolo fueri le mura accaduta" (View of the Ruins of the Great Triumphal Arch of S. Paolo Fuori le Mura) from "Le Antichita Romane" (Ancient Rome), published in Rome in 1823. It depicts the destruction of the Basilica of St. Paul after the fire of 1823. People stand in the road and on the right observing the damage amid debris, which includes many fragments of columns. The etching is presented in a silver-color wood frame with an off-white double mat with a black inner mat. There are a few small spots, but it is otherwise in very good condition. See item # LU117324669722 for another Rossini etching...

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...