Prints & Drawings

“A widely consulted sourcebook for artists” (Mormando)

Unrecorded, large-format broadside offering ‘true depictions’ of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the apostles Peter and Paul based on a recently-rediscovered Byzantine text. Ransomed from the Turks in the early 16th century, the sole surviving manuscript of Nicephorus’ Ecclesiastical History contained sensationally precise details of the physical features of these figures; thanks to its novelty and the circumstances of its rescue, the text became a canonical and infallible source on early Church history for Protestants and Catholics alike following its publication in 1553. Franco Mormando (2007) has recently shed light on the Nicephorus’ importance to 17th century artists, particularly those engaged in the service/business of the visual Counter-Reformation; but while Mormando finds evidence for the use of Nicephorus’ descriptions among artists such as Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the present pair of related broadsides push the reception of Nicephorus in artistic spheres back several decades earlier.

Unique 18th-Century Watercolors of the Deepest Amazon by the Boundary Commissioner in charge of the Spanish Survey party

A collection of five stunning and previously unknown watercolors illustrating dramatic scenes from the joint Spanish-Portuguese boundary commission sent to demarcate the frontiers of the Amazon following the 1777 Treaty of San Ildefonso between Portugal and Spain.

Exceptional set of English watercolors representing the ´Nine Rocks´

A fabulous series of 18th century English watercolours illustrating the Neunfelsenbuch, or ´Nine Rocks´, by the German 14th century mystic, this set represents a very rare show of English 18th century art. They are a highly decorative set of images representing the stages of progress towards religious perfection.

Studies of Michelangelo's original, un-bowdlerized designs for the Last Judgment, owned by Leopoldo Cicognara

Album of seventy studies after the "Last Judgment", preserving Michelangelo's original fresco designs and thus almost certainly made during his lifetime, as the frescoes were bowdlerized on the orders of the Council of Trent shortly after his death in 1564. From the famous library of the Italian art historian and collector Leopoldo Cicognara (1767-1834).

The Siege of Montpellier, engraved newssheet, apparently the sole copy known

This engraved plan of Montpellier, published in 1622 by Melchior Tavernier, documents the city’s fortifications and its strategic landscape in the aftermath of the siege of Montpellier (1622) during the Huguenot rebellions against Louis XIII. The bird’s-eye view presents the newly reinforced bastioned fortifications, a product of the French crown’s efforts to consolidate control over Protestant strongholds in the south of France. The elaborate star-shaped defenses depicted here reflect the modernized military engineering principles of the early seventeenth century, designed to withstand artillery bombardment and siege warfare.

The Chinese original drawings which served as model for Amiot’s Vie de Confucius

The original, long-lost Chinese drawings last seen by Cordier, the visual source for one of the most influential Enlightenment biographies of Confucius.

Perhaps the first series of landscape prints made in France

Exceptional series of fantastical landscapes by du Cerceau, the first such series printed in France, here transformed with remarkable contemporary color and highlighted with gold; this is also the first series printed by du Cerceau and represents the birth of independent landscape printing in France. This album is the only known copy of these engravings in contemporary color, it is also the only known example of one of the etchings, not present in any of the other 8 copies known; overall, it is a significant discovery for the history of French printmaking history and Renaissance art.

Exceptional collection of watercolors from Colombia from the earliest stages of the Republic including works from two well-known Colombian artists

Wonderful iconographic record of Colombia in the last years of the 1830’s, comprised of 27 watercolors, one of the largest groups of watercolors we have seen of Colombia, portraying local costumes, landscapes, city views, the native population, etc., the work of mostly two talented artists: Jose S. Castillo and Joseph Pio Dominguez, all mostly dated from 1837, one dated 1832.

The ‘finest English colour plate book on Brazil’

First edition, one of the most beautiful and rarest plate-books produced on Rio de Janeiro -and in general of South America-, widely regarded as one of the finest English works on Brazil.

Huguenot Rebellions, the Siege of Montauban, engraved broadside

This engraved siege plan of Montauban, published in 1621 by Nicolas de Mathonière, illustrates the fortifications of the city and the surrounding military encampments during the siege of Montauban by Louis XIII. The bird’s-eye perspective captures the bastioned defenses, siegeworks, and artillery positions, while the accompanying letterpress text provides a historical and tactical account of the siege.