The three living and the three dead kings
Engraver: Amand-Durand (1831-1905).
Artist: after Master of the Housebook (last quarter of the 15th century).
Media / technique: Heliogravure Etching - etched on a copper plate and printed as an ordinary etching in the standard way using laid paper and a traditional etching press.
Production date: c. 1870.
Plate mark: 23x16 cms.
Paper size: 31,5x45 cms.
Condition: good.; The legend of the three living and the three dead most probably comes from France. The oldest manuscripts go back to the 13th century: they contain poems of Baudoin de Conde, of Nicolas de Margival and of two unknown writers. The plot of "the legend" is rather simple: three corpses (representing ecclesiastics) meet with three living (a duke, a count, and a prince). The latter are terrified by this encounter. The dead speak to the three rich men, urging them to repent: "Such as I was you are, and such as I am you will be. Wealth, honor and power are of no value at the hour of your death.".; Charles Amand Durand (1831-1905)
An innovative and passionate engraver & artist who resurrected the fading copper & wood plates of various Old Masters from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, such as Rembrandt, Albrecht Drurer, Hans Sebald Beham and others. He admired their wood & copper plates, that he noted had faded, through the ravages of time & use, and were no longer producing quality impressions.
Durand comprehensively researched many public and private collections displaying the Old Masters' engravings and realised that many of the images would eventually fade completely. He especially admired the works of Rembrandt and scrutinised his plates and techniques. Rembrandts engravings were created in the 1600s, but by the mid 1800s the original plates were in a worn and defective condition. In order to form exact reproductions, he used as his guide, not the worn and flat original copper or wood plates, but the 1st & 2nd state prints of the original works. Durand dedicated a major part of his life to recreating in exact detail the engraved plates of Rembrandt & other old Masters.
Durands re-engravings became so well respected that major collectors & institutions throughout Europe sought to acquire them, including the French Biblioteque Nationale and the Louvre Museum in Paris.
In 1895 Theo Van Gogh, brother and manager of Vincent Van Gogh stumbled across Durands work. He was so impressed that he sought the artist out. Afterward contacting Vincent to express his enthusiasm for his artistic talents and intellect. Van Gogh was one of the many that recognized Amand Durands talents at the end of the 19th century and beyond.
In 1855, the Conservator of the Cabinet de Estampes, George Duplessis, was so appreciated of the genius of Durand that he had his work published in books by the Bibliotheque Nationale, France. Durands plates were used in an anthology of European engravings, from the 15th to 19th centuries. This publication was beautifully presented and made available at considerable cost to the wider public in 1870.; Master of the Housebook and Master of the Amsterdam Cabinet are two names used for an engraver and painter working in South Germany in the last quarter of the 15th century. He is apparently the first artist to use drypoint, a form of engraving, for all of his prints (other than woodcuts he may have designed). The first name derives from his book of drawings with watercolour, called the Medieval Housebook, which belonged to the German noble family of Waldburg-Wolfegg from the 17th century until 2008, when they were reported to have sold it for €20 million to a Swiss buyer; however, the legality of its sale for export has been challenged and, for the moment, it remains with the family. In 1999, the book was lent to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., for an exhibition. The majority of his surviving prints are in the print room at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, hence his second name. Most, but not all, art historians still agree that the Housebook and the prints are by the same artist.

Reserve: $240.00

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