Publisher Peter Paul Rubens
Etching, copperplate/ribbed paper, 24.1 x 19.5 cm, 21.8 x 19.2 cm (composition), state II; signed on matrix in lower margin, left: Pet.Paul. Rubenius invenit et excud.; on the right, publishing privileges: Cum Privilegiis Regis/christianissimi/ serenissimæ infantis/et ordinum confederāt.; in the middle, Latin inscription: Quis vetet apposito, lumen de lumine tolli, / Mille licet capiant, deperit inde nihil.
Fine print. Figure yellowed, small tear in bottom margin from word inde down. On the back there is a visible fold and repairs: lower margin glued with a strip of paper, also glued two upper corners.
LITERATURE:
- Hollstein's Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, ca. 1450-1700, vol. XX, Amsterdam 1978, p.119, cat.2/I [Rubens]; Hollstein's Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, ca. 1450-1700, vol. XVII, Amsterdam 1976, p.163, cat.48/II [Pontius]; https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_Sheepshanks-7263 (accessed 20.02.2025)
The presented engraving is known from different versions. In many publications one can find a hypothesis that the engraving in etching technique was made by P.P. Rubens himself with his own hands. To him is attributed the condition without the addition of inscriptions on the matrix. A contre-épreuve print has survived in the collection of The British Museum with a correction made by the artist. The painter and draughtsman Abraham van Diepenbeeck (1596-1675), who worked with Rubens, is listed as the co-author of the engraving. Subsequently, the engraving and inscriptions under the composition were added, and this work was then attributed to other engravers Paul Pontius or Lucas Vorsterman. The Latin two-line poem visible at the bottom of the engraving comes from Ovid's The Art of Loving. The painting itself, according to which the engraving was created, was in Rubens' possession until his death. Today it can be seen in the Mauritshuis collection in The Hague.
RUBENS' SCHOOL OF PRINTMAKING
was associated with the work of one of the most prominent artists of the Baroque era, who appreciated the importance of reproductive printmaking for the dissemination of his work. He employed outstanding engravers in his workshop to reproduce the master's paintings and drawings. Rubens himself, taking care of the high artistic level of the engravings he created, prepared oil sketches and drawings, and personally retouched the proofs ( including those made using the contre-épreuve method ). At various times, about 100 engravers worked with the painter, producing their works in various graphic techniques. The workshop operated until the artist's death in 1640.
