Justice ('Iusticia'), from: The Seven Virtues

Details

PHILIPS GALLE (1537-1612) AFTER PIETER BRUEGEL THE ELDER (CIRCA 1525-1569)
Justice ('Iusticia'), from: The Seven Virtues
engraving, 1559, on laid paper, watermark Gothic P, a very good, dark impression of New Hollstein's only state, published by Hieronymus Cock, Antwerp, trimmed to or just inside the platemark, retaining a fillet of blank paper outside of the borderline on all sides
Sheet 223 x 290 mm.

Literature

Bastelaer, Hollstein 135; Lari 130; New Hollstein 16 (Bruegel); New Hollstein 312 (Galle)
J. van Grieken, G. Luijten, J. van der Stock, Hieronymous Cock - The Renaissance in Print, New Haven & London, 2013, no. 54.4.
M. Bass & E. Wyckoff, Beyond Bosch - The Afterlife of a Renaissance Master, Saint Louis Art Museum & Harvard University Art Museums, 2015-2016, cat. 14b., p. 138.
M. Bassens & J. van Grieken, Bruegel - The Complete Graphic Works, Brussels, 2019, no. 13d.

Special notice

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Tim Schmelcher International Specialist

tschmelcher@christies.com +44 (0) 20 7389 2268

Lot Essay

The preparatory drawing for this engraving, dated 1559 and signed by Bruegel, is in the Bibliothèque Royale, Brussels (inv. S.II..133707).
None of the catalogue sources makes a distinction between states. Only Lebeer (1969), distinguishes between two states of the plate: one in which the 'A' in 'VIVAT' is missing the middle bar, and a second one in which this 'A' is corrected, as in the present impression.

Maarten Bassens, who is currently preparing a new catalogue raisonné of prints after Bruegel, considers this an impression of the second, final state. We are grateful to Mr Bassens for this information, prior to publication.

More from Old Master Prints

View All