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Religious print-series designed by Romeyn de Hooghe
LA VIGNE, David de & Mr. De CHERTABLON.La maniere de se bien preparer a la mort, par des considerations sur la cene, la passion & la mort de Jesus-Christ, avec de très-belles estampes emblematiques, expliquées par Mr. De Chertablon.      Antwerp (Amsterdam?), George Gallet, 1700. 4to. Contemporary light brown calf, spine richly gilt in compartments with red title-label lettered in gold, gilt borders along the edges of both sides with large gilt coat-of-arms of the Duke De Richelieu in centre, gilt binding-edges, gilt dentelles, red painted edges, marbled endpapers. Title printed in red and black, engraved emblematic frontispiece with Death knocking on the door (A), 39 beautifully designed and engraved full-page plates showing people on their deathbed being shown the Crucifix and scenes of Christ's Passion on paintings held up high by little cherubs (numbered 1-39) and 2 full-page emblematic plates, numbered B-C, with death symbols, all copies (the most in reverse) of the etchings by Romeyn de Hooghe. 63, (1) pp. (Collation: A-H4). Beautiful and inspiring series of plates, named 'The way to prepare oneself well for death by contemplating the Last Supper, the Passion and the Death of Christ', designed by the great Dutch artist Romeyn de Hooghe (1645-1708), and presenting a 'miror of good death', as well as a 'memento mori', consisting of three frontispieces, numbered A-C, and a series of 39 numbered plates of people on their deathbeds. Intended to teach how to die well by means of pictures from the Life of Jesus, the print-series was first published with texts in French and in Dutch by David de la Vigne, at Antwerp (Funk) or Amsterdam (Landwehr) in 1673. The text of De la Vigne's Miroir de la Bonne Mort (Mirror of a Good Death) was first printed in Paris in 1646 by Rolet le Duc, following the death of De la Vigne's patron Philippe Cospeau, Bishop of Lisieux. It had three sections: The Bishop's illness and death, Christ's Passion, and the crucifixion. The 1673 version was printed in the Northern Netherlands, with etchings by Romeyn de Hooghe. De Hooghe provided three frontispieces, one for each section, and 39 etchings describing the beginning, middle and end of an illness. The plates must have gone astray as the series was published again with the Dutch text by David de la Vigne in 1694, with the plates copied in slightly smaller size and mostly in reverse. In our copy these plates were used again, but published with new, much longer and more elaborated explanatory texts by Mr. De Chertablon, a Roman Catholic priest who extensively describes and explains what is shown on the plates. He also divided the plates into three series of 13 plates, each series headed by one of the three frontispieces. The frontispieces are more programmatic and individual. The first shows a skeleton (death) knocking at a door, holding an hourglass and scythe. Above the door is written 'Statutum est omnibus hominibus semel mori' (it is appointed unto all men once to die; Hebrews 9:27). Courtly activity fills the middle ground. To the left a man carries a cross up the hill, towards a 'radiant pyramid' with a serpent devouring itself. Below the skeleton is an entombment, with skeletons. This scene in fictive relief is framed by conventional foliage and ribbons, but also by skulls, crossbones and a decorative border in the form of vertebrae. Signs of decay abound in skulls and snakes. The road is placed behind this inevitable death. Superficially death conquers all, but the courtiers, if they follow Jesus and the cross, will come to the pyramid, signifying the 'infinite holiness of the triune God', with death, now rendered powerless, eating itself. The second and third frontispieces display three virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity. In the second - heading the series 14-26 - Death leads a man to the tomb, showing that 'la mort met fin à tout' (death puts an end to everything) while an angel points to a 'Speculum bonae mortis' (Mirror of a Good Death) in the top right corner, where the three virtues sit. Hope and Faith sit beside the crucifix in which Jesus is revealed as charity. This is the book's fundamental message. Death will come indiscriminately to all, because of the Fall (a snake curled in a skull holds the fateful apple atop the monument on the left). However, Jesus' infinite charity always provides hope. The third frontispiece - heading the series 27-39 - reiterates this theme (see above p. 50). God is shown with the seven lamps of the Apocalypse, indicating his divine majesty. God, and the three virtues (represented in one woman), direct the 'miserable' to the crucifixion. The inscription reads 'Inspice et fac secundum exemplar quod tibi in monte monstratum est' (See that you make them after their pattern, which has been shown to you on the mountain; Exodus 25:40), an exhortation to Imitatio Christi, another key theme of the text. To the right an angel chases death and the devil away, again showing the victory of Christ crucified. The final image re-emphasises the importance of following Christ and trusting in God in dying. The text is Luke 23:46 'and when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.' The text finishes with these words. As the person dies they should repeat 'Mon pere je remets mon ame entre vos mains'. To the preliminaries De Chertablon added a preface discussing the origin and the fear of death, a prayer to prepare for death, and several proverbs on death in French and Latin. In 1701 a German translation was published with the same plates. The work follows the established ars moriendi (art of dying) genre, which emerged primarily for lay-people in the fifteenth century. The book was probably printed in Amsterdam, despite the imprint Antwerp (Coppens, 1995, p. 283). Little is known of De Chertablon. A possible identification with David de la Vigne, whose Miroir de la Bonne Mort (Mirror of a Good Death) he extended and revised in La Manière, seems dubious. The etchings, apart from the frontispieces, are formulaic, illustrating key features the facing text which always begins with a scriptural phrase, in Latin and French translation, which appears in the painting, followed by commentary drawing on other biblical and patristic texts. Precise textual references appear as marginalia in smaller font. Each of these etchings depicts a dying man. A guardian angel points to putti who hold up a tableau of a biblical scene from which the dying man should draw comfort. Five images depict the angel accompanying the man while a devil tempts him. Fine copy from the library of the sailor and nobleman Armand-Jean de Vignerot du Plessis, 2nd Duc de Richelieu (1629-1715), the great-nephew of Cardinal de Richelieu (to whose dukedom he succeeded in 1657); he became a general of the galleys in 1642.
Romeyn de Hooghe, de verbeelding van de late Gouden Eeuw, ed. H. van Nierop, a.o. (2008), p. 275, no. 1700.04; cf. p. 263, no. 1673.14; Landwehr, Romeyn de Hooghe, 84, note; Hollstein IX, R. de Hooghe 1128 (Dutch ed. of 1694); Chr. Coppens, Een Ars moriendi met etsen van Romeyn de Hooghe: Verhaal van een boekillustratie (Verhand. Kon. Acad. v. Wetensch., Lett. en Schone Kunsten van België; Brussels 1995); for the coat of arms: Olivier 2314.
Related Subjects: Armorial Bindings Dutch Engravings Print Series Religion Romeyn de Hooghe Add to Shopping cart |
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All items are offered subject to prior sale. Prices are nett and in (€) EURO. VAT/BTW, postage, and insurance are not included.
Free shipping for orders over € 2,500. EU customers: if applicable, please quote your VAT number when placing orders.
Preferred mode of payment: by credit card through our secure online payment service, which is facilitated by Ogone. If you wish to make other arrangements, please contact us. Terms of sale
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