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Matthäus Merian the Elder
The Beheading of the King of England; Enthauptung des Königs in England

1649

$500
£371.69
€435.13
CA$699.29
A$780.77
CHF 407.27
MX$9,600.75
NOK 5,140.28
SEK 4,839.39
DKK 3,246.09
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About the Item

The execution of Charles I (1600-1649) at Whitehall, January 30th 1649, in front of the Banqueting House. The executioner holding the head of Charles up to the crowd below. Engraving on two sheets of joined cream laid paper, one sheet with a fleur-de-lys watermark, 9 x 11 3/4 inches (230 x 300 mm), full margins. Vertical center crease, as issued. General toning with scattered light spots, two tabs of paper tape at the center sheet edges on the right and left margins, well outside of image area. Handling creases, and age-consistent wear. An illustration to Theatrum Europaeum, a journal on the history of the German-speaking lands by Matthäus Merian, published between 1633 and 1738. Just thirteen years after nine splended canvases by Peter Paul Rubens were installed on the high ceiling of the Banqueting House, Charles I viewed them for the last time. As a condemned man, Charles I walked to his death under the magnificent paintings, which ironically, he had commissioned as a tribute to his late father. The King was then executed on a scaffold outside the Banqueting House on 30 January 1649. His death is commemorated in a service held there every year on the anniversary. In this view an executioner holds the severed head of Charles I beside the still bleeding body of the King. To the right of the executioner, Bishop Juxon, Mathew Tomlinson, and Francis Hacker stand, the former two holding the King's robes. Surrounding the scaffold, a very large crowd of men and women are gathered to witness the execution, and more crowds are depicted watching from the roof of Whitehall itself. With two coats of arms and German inscription above. Matthäus Merian the Elder (22 September 1593 - 19 June 1650) was a Swiss engraver born in Basel. Beginning his career in Zürich, he went on to study and work in various cities throughout France. In 1616, Merian relocated to Frankfurt to work for the publisher Johann Theodor de Bry. Merian later married de Bry's daughter. Merian was the father of Maria Sibylla Merian, one of the greatest natural history artists of the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
  • Creator:
    Matthäus Merian the Elder (1593 - 1650, German)
  • Creation Year:
    1649
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 9 in (22.86 cm)Width: 11.75 in (29.85 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
    Mid-17th Century
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Middletown, NY
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: BH10301stDibs: LU1979213771712

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