Description
STORY OF JONAH. FRAMED SET of 4 plates, complete. FIRST STATE, published 1585, unnumbered, shortened citations. Original design artist: Maarten de Vos [compare w. pl. 2 in the 1582 series “Jonah and the Whale” elsewhere on this site, claiming Theodor Bernard as the conceptual artist]. Original engraver: Antonius Wierix. Original publisher: Gerard de Jode. Reference: Hollstein 55.1 – 58.1 (Wierix). Clean and sharp impressions, uncut, with full margins on laid paper, lightly toned. Numbered in pen above the plate line, upper right, 206-209 (numbered according to de Jode’s 1585 Sacrarum historiarum Veterus et Novi Testamentum from which these plates came. Note: only 9 mostly complete books are extant). Each engraving size: 9.75″ x 7.4″. Full, uncut sheet: 13.5″ x 11″. Strong impressions. Richly detailed. This iconic series, based on the Book of Jonah, inspired countless artists over the centuries. Sold as a set only. This is the original, first, and complete set. Very Rare. Each expertly framed exactly as in its museum showing.
[Plate 1] God Sends Jonah. [Plate 2] Jonah Thrown Overboard. [Plate 3] Jonah Regurgitated. [Plate 4] God Repents.This set was partly exhibited in the “Holy Beauty” Exhibit at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Salem, Oregon, 2018.
Engravings are framed exactly as in the Hallie Ford Exhibit: black matte metal frames with archival matting and UV glass, 18″ x 14″. COA on premium “gold leaf” paper with gold seal and signature, set in an Archival Booklet.
