Hendrick HONDIUS I (1573 - 1650): Finis coronat opus - 1626
SOLD
Engraving, 211 x 261 mm. New Hollstein 20, 3rd or 4th state/4.
Impression of the 3rd or 4th state (of 4), with the address of Meyssens and perhaps of Vanden Sande.
Very fine impression printed on watermarked laid paper (crowned lily), trimmed to the engraving (the thin white bands on the sides and under the lower inscription have been trimmed, the upper part of Meyssens’ address under this inscription still visible). Very good condition. Small abrasion on verso, small light stain in upper corner.
This beautiful Vanitas depicts a laurel-crowned skull on a table, surrounded by various symbols of impermanence and finitude (hourglass, candle, bouquet of flowers). In front of the table, on a bench in the foreground, are the instruments of the painter and printmaker: palette and brushes, ruler, quill and its case, copper plate leaning against a leather cushion, burins, sketchbooks... At the back, in the middle of the room, a wooden panel stands on an easel facing the back of the studio, where shelves hold books, a globe, scissors, scales...
The skull is placed on an open book on this passage from the Gospel according to Mark (13, 13): "[...] but he who perseveres to the end will be saved" and another from Revelation (14, 13): "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. From now on, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labours: for their works follow them." After their death, and on Judgment Day, the life of every man and the work of every artist will be weighed.
Jokingly, Hondius signed his work on the small copperplate decorated with a Hercules defeating the Hydra of Lerna and specified the privilege on the lower cover of a small book set against the Bible: Cum privill. Ord. foed. Belg. 1626.