CIRCLE OF TIZIANO VECELLIO, CALLED TITIAN (CIRCA 1488-1576)

The Conversion of Saint Paul

Details

CIRCLE OF TIZIANO VECELLIO, CALLED TITIAN (CIRCA 1488-1576)
The Conversion of Saint Paul
woodcut printed from four blocks, circa 1515-20, on four joined sheets of laid paper, each with countermark Flower with Pendant Vd (similar to Briquet 662, Udine, dated 1587), an extremely rare example of this monumental print, presumably printed in the second half of the 16th century (no early impressions appear to have survived), printing clearly and evenly, with some gaps in the borderline, some minor touches of pen and ink, some creases in places, otherwise in good condition, framed
Block 784 x 1047 mm., Sheet 786 x 1070 mm.

Provenance

A. C. Poggi (d. 1836), London & Paris (Lugt 617).
John Postle Heseltine (1843-1929), London (Lugt 1507).

Literature

D. Rosand & M. Muraro, Titian and the Venetian Woodcut, Washington, D.C., 1976, no. 13 (another impression illustrated).

Lot Essay

Neither the creator or the source are known for this dramatic and rare woodcut are known, however it clearly demonstrates the stylistic influence of Titian and an awareness of the great examples of the Venetian monumental woodcut, The Submersion of Pharoah’s Army in the Red Sea, circa 1514-15 and The Sacrifice of Isaac, of circa 1514-15. It has been suggested that the cutter may have been Ugo de Carpi (active 1502-1532), an attribution which would date the print prior to 1518, when de Carpi left Venice for Rome. To our knowledge no contemporary impressions exist, and there are very few later impressions, such as the present one, making it an exceptionally rare survivor.

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