REMBRANDT ETCHING (DURAND): ARNOLD THOLINX - EARLY, FOLIO, WATERMARKED PAPER

Description: 19th CENTURY HELIOGRAVURE RE-WORK BY CHARLES AMAND-DURAND (1831-1905) OF REMBRANDT'S c.1656 ETCHING "PORTRAIT OF ARNOLD THOLINX, THE INSPECTOR" [Generally classified as Bartsch 284] Portrait of Arnold Tholinx, inspector, seated half-length at his desk, wearing a buttoned doublet, flat collar, robe and tall hat. He leans his arms on the arm-rests, and holds his spectacles in his right hand. Before him, his desk, with open books and papers, bottles beyond him at right. From a rare early portfolio-size edition of the Rembrandt etchings published by Durand and Georges Duplessis, it was printed on a large sheet of early "laid", watermarked paper. Think of it as "first edition". This pre-dates editions published in smaller book form which appeared in the 1880s onwards, when Durand's work "went viral" (to coin a modern phrase), became an industry, and major French book publishing houses became involved. Very scarce. CONDITION & TECHNICAL: Very good. No problems at all. Very well printed on thick "laid", chainlined paper with a large manufacturer's watermark/filigrane (see my reverse photo at the end from the lightbox, which acts as a kind of X-Ray machine). The texture, structure and general "feel" is very similar - almost identical - to 18th century paper. Margins obviously intact, huge and wide, the platemark line is neat and clearly visible. A lovely sharp, evenly inked impression, pre-dates the editions which were published in quarto and large octavo size books from the 1880s onwards. Hard to be exact, but this would appear to have been printed somewhere in the years 1869-1875.This particular print would have been too large to fit in conventional book size. Very rare to have the full sheet survive; most of the portfolio size prints have been trimmed down over the years. You will not find a better one - even at some of the eye-watering prices for these Rembrandt/Durands I see all over the internet! Size of the central image area is 196 x 149 millimetres. There are huge wide margins for matting/framing should you wish to do so. Selling unframed: Because I personally believe that it is vital to see and examine the paper to be able to determine the age of the item. Online reference: British Museum 1848,0911.148 and see the Curator's notes.(other major museums should also have it) LIterature:Bartsch 284New Hollstein Dutch and Flemish 294 Hind 289White & Boon 284 Context: Charles Amand Durand developed the revolutionary process of heliogravure in the 1860s. This was much admired by Georges Duplessis (1834-1899), Curator of the Prints Department of the National Library in Paris. The two men decided to collaborate on a lengthy project to re-create some of the Old Master prints in the French collection, particularly the etchings of Rembrandt; Duplessis provided the originals, early states, and Durand used them to meticulously recreate them by his heliogravure process. The project proved so popular that subsequent editions in varying sizes were printed in France from about 1880 onwards. The output became massive. The printing continued after Durand's death in 1905, when the plates were acquired by the Dominique Vincent Company - they, and their successors, continued to print them until 1958, albeit rather worn, ill-defined and on "modern" paper. That is why the 19th century Durands on early paper are much sought after, the particularly early ones - like this on offer here - even more so. SHIPPING: Via Tracked/Signed For service of Royal Mail, both for UK and overseas, for everybody's peace of mind. (A couple of pounds more than I usually charge, because of the size/weight of the package of quite a large item.) ***I can combine shipping costs for you should you wish to purchase more than one item***

Price: 155 GBP

Location: Wadhurst

End Time: 2024-11-13T10:41:34.000Z

Shipping Cost: 20.09 GBP