Christoffel van SICHEM I (c. 1546 - 1624): Portrait of François Ravaillac, murderer of Henri IV - c. 1610-1624

Etching, 240 x 162 mm. Hollstein 29.

Fine impression printed on watermarked laid paper (bunch of grapes).

The British Museum presents two versions of this print, both engraved by Christoffel van Sichem I. The British Museum's online entry points out that Hollstein describes only one.

François Ravaillac (1577-1610) is shown full-length, brandishing the knife with which he struck Henri IV to death, whose carriage was stuck in rue de la Ferronnerie, Paris. The murder is depicted in the lower-right background, while Ravaillac can be seen on the left being questioned and quartered on the Place de Grève. The portraits of Henri IV, Marie de Médicis and their son Louis XIII dominate the print.

Rare.