Αρχές του 19ου αιώνα, 1824 χαρακτική Συλλογή Εκλεκτών Χαρακτικών μετά Ολλανδούς και Φλαμανδούς Δασκάλους (χωρίς τιμή ασφαλείας)

Collection of Five Original 1824 Engravings after Dutch and Flemish Old Masters – Rembrandt, Gonzales Coques & Philippe de Champaigne

Culture / Period: European / British School, early 19th century
Date / Period: 1824
Material: Original engravings on paper
Dimensions: Three approx. 80 × 102 mm; one approx. 90 × 73 mm; one approx. 98 × 83 mm
Condition: Good condition

Background Information:
A fine collection of five genuine early 19th-century engraved works on paper, published in 1824 and presenting compositions after celebrated masters of the Dutch and Flemish schools. The inscriptions beneath the images identify two plates as “Gonzales”, two as “Rembrandt”, and one as “P. de Champagne”, referring to Gonzales Coques, Rembrandt van Rijn and Philippe de Champaigne.

These are period engravings rather than modern reproductions. Each is an individual graphic artwork created through the traditional intaglio printing process, in which an engraved metal plate was inked and printed onto paper under pressure. The fine linear modelling, cross-hatching and carefully graduated areas of light and shadow demonstrate the considerable technical skill required of professional engravers before the development of photographic reproduction.

The subjects form an attractive survey of 17th-century Northern European art: two refined full-length figures after Gonzales Coques, a devotional or domestic composition and a distinguished seated male portrait after Rembrandt, and an elegant portrait after Philippe de Champaigne. Several retain their original plate numbers above the engraved image, demonstrating their origin within a larger early 19th-century published series devoted to important works of European art.

Such engravings occupied an important position in the art world of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. They were collected as works of graphic art in their own right while simultaneously allowing connoisseurs to study celebrated paintings that were otherwise accessible only in important private collections and galleries. Producing a successful interpretation required the engraver to translate colour, texture, light and painterly modelling entirely into line.

The flourishing London print trade of the 1820s produced ambitious publications devoted to the Old Masters, with Dutch and Flemish painting enjoying particular prestige among British collectors. Sets of engraved plates were acquired for private libraries, portfolios and collections, forming an important part of contemporary artistic culture.

Preserved together for approximately two centuries, this group represents an appealing collection of authentic period printmaking from 1824. Beyond their connection with Rembrandt, Gonzales Coques and Philippe de Champaigne, the engravings are historical works of graphic art in their own right and provide a tangible connection to the sophisticated culture of European art collecting and printmaking in the early 19th century.