Lot Essay
Jean Duvet's graphic output, created during the 1540-50s, coincides with the print production at the School of Fontainebleau. We can assume that Duvet, who worked as an engraver, goldsmith and festival designer in Burgundy and the North-East of France, was familiar with the etchings of Leon Davent, Antonio Fantuzzi and the other Fontainebleau etchers, yet he developed a peculiar style all of his own. His oeuvre consists mainly of two series, one describing a unicorn hunt on six horizontal plates, and a set of 23 arched, upright prints of the Apocalypse, which was clearly inspired by Albrecht Dürer's woodcut series of the Apocalypse created approximately forty years earlier. This influence is particularly evident in the present plate, especially in the design of the Beast, which is borrowed directly from the multi-headed creature in Dürer's Beast with two Horns like a Lamb (see ill.). Seemingly driven by a visual horror vacui, Duvet's treatment however is completely different, as he stacks figures, monsters, rocks and clouds tightly on top of each other, filling almost the entire surface of the plate and leaving barely any blank areas at all. The image is practically devoid of perspective or depth, more similar to a tapestry than a painting or drawing. His unique style, perhaps informed by his experience with metal ornaments and festive decorations, makes him one of the most idiosyncratic artists in the history of European printmaking.
It can be assumed that Duvet's plates were printed in small numbers only, and only very few good, early impressions such as the present one have survived to this day.
It can be assumed that Duvet's plates were printed in small numbers only, and only very few good, early impressions such as the present one have survived to this day.