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Prints


Etchings, Woodcuts,...



742 photos
'The Printer's Workshop', 1568. In the background two men are selecting letters from a double-type case, which they then would assemble in a line on a hand-held tray according to the manuscripts pinned beside them. On our right, a youth is inking the lines of type with dabbers, while his companion lifts a printed page off its spikes from the hinged frame. A further hinged frame would be closed over a new sheet, to hold the paper in place as it is folded over the type. The whole assembly is then slid under the press, which is forced down by one horizontal pull of the handle. Woodcut blocks can be printed in this press at the same time as text. From "The Book of Trades" this small, but informative, print is one of 114 woodcuts by Amman illustrating the 'ranks' of society or trades, from paper-maker to pope. Each picture was accompanied by a poem by Hans Sachs. PD, Book 159.D.11 (Bartsch 371)
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'The Printer's Workshop', 1568. In the background two men are selecting letters...

'An Allegory of a Prosperous Germany', 1586. Seated in the centre is Pallas Athene, the Greek goddess of wisdom. She is attended by Bacchus, god of wine, and Ceres, goddess of wheat. They represent the abundance of drink and food. In the foreground are two German river gods: the Rhine on the left, the Danube on the right. Water flows from beside them, filled with eels, fish and birds.In the sky above, various figures with Latin titles represent further aspects of Germany's victorious and harmonious rule. The figure of Victory rides an eagle on the left and on the right, the figures of Religion, Prudence and Understanding, represent peace. Faith and Constancy rule in the centre, topped by Justice who is crowned by Fame. In the background are details of life and work which reflect the allegorical figures above. To the left are scenes of mining, hunting and warfare. To the right are scenes of shipping and trade, astronomy, painting, printing and building. PD, 1949-4-11-105
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'An Allegory of a Prosperous Germany', 1586. Seated in the centre is Pallas Athe...

'Allegory on the Equality of all Mankind in Death', 1599. The complex meaning of this image is derived from the Latin inscriptions. The most important is that at the top of the tent: "MORS CERTA RELIGONIBUS AEQVAT" (Death makes the sceptre and spade equal). Death is therefore the equaliser of people of all classes, from the peasant on the left to the Emperor on the right. The skeletons show no social distinction. On the rim of the tent stand an owl and a lamp, symbols of death and life respectively. The round scenes show the Fall of Man and the Crucifixion, representing the introduction and the conquering of death. The Last Judgement painted in the centre reminds the viewer of Divine Judgement. The boy blowing bubbles is a traditional emblem of transience dictated by the words inscribed over his head: "HOMO BULLA" (Man is [as] a soap bubble). The drawing and print of this theme of mortality and the passing of human existence are therefore designed to encourage the renunciation of all worldly pleasures and to prepare the viewer for death. De Gheyn sympathized with Protestant or Calvinist teachings as this drawing fully illustrates. PD, 1895-9-15-1031
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'Allegory on the Equality of all Mankind in Death', 1599. The complex meaning of...

'Albion Rose', c1796. Also known as 'Glad Day' or 'The Dance of Albion', in which the figure of Albion, a personification of humanity and of Britain, is freeing himself from the shackles of materialism. This plate was once part of the "Large Book of Designs" which Blake printed in 1796 for the miniature painter Ozias Humphrey. PD, 1856-2-9-417
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'Albion Rose', c1796. Also known as 'Glad Day' or 'The Dance of Albion', in whic...

'A Horse Affrighted by a Lion', 1777. The picture is intended to express the terror of the horse and to invite the spectator to identify with the innocent and beautiful victim. The sublime emotional intensity is reinforced by the stormy weather and the wild landscape. Stubbs has transferred a formula for expressing human terror - staring eyes, stretched nostrils, bared teeth - to his animal subject. The design exploits the increasing sympathy felt in the late eighteenth century for animals in distress and for victims of cruelty in general. PD, 1865-1-14-909
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'A Horse Affrighted by a Lion', 1777. The picture is intended to express the ter...

"Linda maestra" - "Gentle mistress",etching No.68 from the "Caprichos",around 1798
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"Linda maestra" - "Gentle mistress",etching No.68 from the "Caprichos",aro...

"Alla va eso",("This way"),etching No.66 from the "Caprichos",around 1798.
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"Alla va eso",("This way"),etching No.66 from the "Caprichos",around 1798.

"O the Roast Beef of England", 1749. An overweight monk and a cook carrying a huge slab of beef, in direct contrast are the French soldiers behind them. The tall soldier is so distracted he is spilling his soup. Through the arch figures kneel as a priest walks by. The scene takes place in front of the inner drawbridge of the Gate of Calais. See 40-06-01/2
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"O the Roast Beef of England", 1749. An overweight monk and a cook carrying a hu...

Hogarth painting the muse of comedy, 1764. A self-portrait of him seated before an easel, painting the comic muse. At his feet is a map containing one of his plates, "An Analysis of Beauty".
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Hogarth painting the muse of comedy, 1764. A self-portrait of him seated before...

'Picture Puzzle of Jonah and the Whale and a Squatting Peasant', 1537. The anamorphic, or distorted, view in this large, dated print shows Jonah stepping out from an imaginative whale but the landscape is not distorted. In the foreground, the stretched inscription reads, WAS SICHST DV? ('What do you see?'), with the date and a small printer's name. To 'see' the subject correctly, a viewpoint from the lower right-hand corner is required. A squatting and defecating peasant then appears. The vulgarity is disguised by the distortion, but the goat on the far left about to charge the naked buttocks gives a clue to the woodcut's underlying peculiarity. PD, 1880-7-10-643 (CD I. 552,9)
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'Picture Puzzle of Jonah and the Whale and a Squatting Peasant', 1537. The anamo...

'The Three Trees', 1643. The three trees are buffeted by gusts of wind and rise in a burst of sunlight against a sky of rapidly moving clouds. On the left, a standing fisherman watches the end of his line, while his wife waits with a lunch basket. Above them, cows, horses and people are scattered in the sunlit fields, beyond which the towers of the distant city almost vanish in a squall of rain. On the near right, two lovers can be glimpsed in the undergrowth. A wagon on the brow of the hill approaches a seated artist, who sketches the view that is out of our sight. Behind the trunks of the three trees, some cottages shelter in the hollow of the hill, while far above them a flock of birds soars high in the sky.This atmospheric print is widely regarded as Rembrandt's greatest as well as his most elaborate landscape etching. PD, 1868-8-22-678 (Hind 205; Bartsch 212)
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'The Three Trees', 1643. The three trees are buffeted by gusts of wind and rise...

Title page of "Les Fantaisies , 1635. 14 etchings (one missing in the collection), 6,1 x 8,2 cm. Lieure 1372
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Title page of "Les Fantaisies , 1635. 14 etchings (one missing in the collectio...