c 1600 Line Engraving - Isabella Estensis - Titian/Rubens

$1,800.00

An original line engraving of “ISABELLA ESTENSIS…” after a portrait by Titian - copied by P. P. Rubens (1577-1640) and published under his supervision c.1620. Plate size is approximately 16 5/8 x 12 5/8 inches. 

Per the Getty Museum 2006 Exhibition “Rubens and His Printmakers: “At the height of his career, Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens directed a concerted campaign to reproduce and disseminate his paintings, drawings, and tapestry designs in printed format. … In 1619 he obtained legal authority to copyright his images and hired printmakers to translate his compositions into authorized reproductive engravings and woodcuts. Rubens closely supervised the copying of his work, avoiding artists who tried to impose their own ideas and styles on the reproductions, and encouraging printmakers to imitate his painterly effects. His challenging demands were met by many printmakers, whose printed masterpieces solidified Rubens's reputation and influence.”

This fine portrait engraving was executed by the master, Lucas Vorsterman (1595-1675). Vorsterman was the first engraver to work for Rubens on a regular basis. Between 1619 and 1622, Vorsterman made numerous engravings after Rubens’ religious and secular compositions (MMOA: Works on Paper -2003). Another example of this image is in British Museum collection, number 1876.1209.1179.

Isabella Estensis was the daughter of Ercole I d’Este (1471-1505). Ercole’s crucial problem became one of consolidating his own political position by means of marriages that would bind him to the principal Italian powers: of his three daughters, Lucrezia was married to Annibale Bentivoglio (of Bologna), Isabella to Francesco Gonzaga (of Mantua), and Beatrice to Ludovico Sforza (of Milan). Ercole's eldest son, Alfonso, was married first to Anna Sforza (of Milan) and then to the famous Lucrezia Borgia, the daughter of Pope Alexander VI.

Shipped unmatted.

 

  • Inventory# MA-399