REMBRANDT ETCHING (DURAND): JAN ASSELYN - EARLY, FOLIO, WATERMARKED PAPER

Description: 19th CENTURY HELIOGRAVURE RE-WORK BY CHARLES AMAND-DURAND (1831-1905) OF REMBRANDT'S 1646 ETCHING "PORTRAIT OF JAN ASSELYN" [Generally classified as Bartsch 277, Hollstein 277] The subject, Jan Assleyn, was a fellow artist in Rembrandt's day; born in Holland, he was a landscape painter whose works served almost as a journal of his travels. According to Rembrandt scholars, Jan Assleyn was small in stature and also had a deformed hand - he was nicknamed 'Crabbetje' as a result (though neither feature is distinguishable in this portrait). 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! Rembrandt's cipher/signature and date 1646 are at top left sector, fragmented and very feint. Size of the central image platemark area is 24 x 19 centimetres.Total size of the folio sheet is a large 46 x 30 centimetres. so obviously there are huge wide margins for matting/framing should you wish to do so. Online reference: Victoria & Albert Museum London, CAI.727Princeton University Art Museum 2011-103(other major museums should also have it) LIterature:Bartsch 277New Hollstein Dutch and Flemish 144.236 Hind 227Bjorklund/Barnard 47 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: 165 GBP

Location: Wadhurst

End Time: 2025-01-20T19:47:18.000Z

Shipping Cost: 19.5 GBP