[DEVOTIONAL PRINTS].
[Collection of 37 devotional prints and drawings].
[Flanders and Paris, various publishers, ca. 1630-1850]. 2 volumes. Oblong folio (ca. 29 x 42.5 cm); sheet size ca. 12 x 9 to 35 x 23 cm. With 24 contemporary hand-coloured engravings, of which some heightened with gold, 1 contemporary hand-coloured woodcut illustration, 1 chromolithographed print, 7 watercolour drawings (including 2 on vellum), 3 silk embroidered prints in various sizes, and 1 image made of paper ornaments glued onto a black netting fabric. Further with a folded alphabetical list of the Antwerp printers and engravers of devotional prints in a 19th-century hand tipped onto the first leaf of the album. Several prints are tipped into a 19th-century elaborately gold- and blind-tooled brown morocco album, a blind-tooled ornament in the centre of both boards with the crowned initials "J.B." on the front, surrounded by a double fillet frame with elaborate corner pieces, gold-tooled board edges and turn-ins, gilt edges, white watered silk endpapers. The work is housed in a 19th-century marbled slipcase, with a paper label with the name of Countess Julie Visart de Bocarmé mounted on the front. The remaining prints have been tipped onto a sheet of sturdy paper, inserted into a clear plastic file folder, which are loosely inserted into a 19th-century elaborately gold- and blind-tooled purple morocco album, with the word "album" lettered in gold on the front, surrounded by a blind-tooled Gothic style border and an elaborate gold-tooled border, gilt edges, black watered silk end papers.
€ 16,500
Remarkable collection of 37 devotional prints and drawings, including fifteen printed on vellum and two "clad" prints. The majority of the prints and drawings were made in the 17th and 18th centuries, but a small number of 19th-century examples is also included. The prints, all depicting Catholic saints and scenery, are decorated with a wide variety of techniques. Most are hand coloured and heightened with gold, but several are clad in fabric, embroidered, cut out to resemble lace, sometimes backed with coloured paper or metal foil to highlight the cut outs, and one was made by gluing paper ornaments onto a black netting fabric. The present collection, which was owned and probably compiled by the Belgian Countess Julie Alexandrine Marie Josèphe Visart de Bocarmé (1823-1862), not only offers a fascinating sample of popular printing culture in Flanders, but also highlights the endless creativity of both the creators and consumers of these prints.
Devotional prints were initially used as images for the illiterate, replacing written or printed texts. They were intended for private devotion and often bought and decorated by women. The present prints were mainly engraved by 17th-century Flemish printmakers, such as Cornelius de Boudt (1660-1738), Michiel Cabbaey (1660-1722), Guillaume Collaert (ca. 1595-ca. 1651), Lodewijk Joseph Fruytiers (1713-1782), Jacob de Man (ca. 1643-1719), and Theodoor van Merlen III (1661-1749). In contrast to most examples of this genre, most of the present engravings are printed on vellum and beautifully coloured by a contemporary hand, partly heightened in gold for the halos of the saints. The prints include biblical scenes showing Christ (on the Cross), Joseph, Mary, the Apostles, and John the Baptist. The majority of the prints depict portraits of Catholic saints, such as Anthony of Padua (1195-1231), Apollonia of Alexandria (d. 249), Dorothea of Caesarea (d. ca. 311), Francis of Assisi (ca. 1181-1226), Francis Xavier (1506-1552), Helena of Constantinople (ca. 246-330), Peter of Alcántara (1499-1562), and Rosalia of Palermo (1130-1166).
A complete list of contents is available upon request.
With the initials of Belgian Countess Julie Visart de Bocarmé stamped in gold on the front board, and her manuscript ownerships label ("Julie Visart de Bocarmé [Baronesse] G.v.Z.v.N.") mounted on the front of the slipcase. Further with the printed label of "Cabasson, Suc[cesseu]r de Terzuolo-Despilly, Papetier du Roi, Rue de la Chaussée dAntin, No. 15" mounted on the verso of the first flyleaf of the brown album, all prints and drawings have been tipped onto a white sheet of paper with a manuscript collection number at the top. The boards are slightly rubbed and scratched. The first few leaves of the purple album have been removed to make space for the collection. The prints and drawing show traces of use, with some browning, and occasional creasing, soiling, or foxing. The edges and corners of the slipcase are scuffed, and the lower right corner of the paper label is torn off. Otherwise in good condition. K. van den Bergh, Bidprentjes in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden (1975); J.A.J.M. Verspaandonk, Het hemels prentenboek. Devotie- en bidprentjes vanaf de 17e eeuw tot het begin van de 20e eeuw (1975).
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