HARRIS SCHRANK FINE PRINTS » Hans Sebald Beham

Coat of Arms With an Eagle

Harris Schrank — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:14:45 +0000

Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550), Coat of Arms With an Eagle, engraving, 1543. References: Bartsch 257, Pauli 268, only state. In generally good condition, with narrow margins, two repaired tears lower center, soiling.

Provenance:

L. Freiherr von Biegeleben (Lugt 385)

E. Schultze (Lugt 906)

Albert W. Blum (Lugt 79b), his sale Sotheby’s New York, 2/’88, lot 1189)

A rubbed impression, and so details not clear.

Coat of Arms With A Cock

Harris Schrank — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:54:19 +0000

Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550), Coat of Arms with a Cock, engraving, 1543. References: Bartsch 256, Pauli 267, second state (of 2) [signed and dated in the plate]. On laid paper with no watermark. In very good condition (usual slim margins, some soiling in margins), 69 x 47 mm, sheet 72 x 51 mm.

Provenance:

Dr. Erich von Rath (Lugt 2721)

Albert W. Blum (Lugt 79b), his sale Sotheby’s, New York, 2/1988, lot 1191

A fine rich impression.

The Little Buffoon

Harris Schrank — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:36:21 +0000

Hans Sebald Beham - The Little Buffoon, engraving, 1542, first state (of 2)

Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550), The Little Buffoon, engraving, 1642. References: Bartsch 230, Pauli 234, first state (of 2). In very good condition apart two minor thin spots lower right and an unobtrusive vertical crease, mainly visible verso, trimmed to the platemark, 45 x 81 mm.

A fine, rich impression of the first state.

Provenance:

Heinrich Stiebel (Lugt 1367)

W. Meyer (L. 1813)

Albert W. Blum (L. 79b); his sale Sotheby’s, New York, Feb. 27, 1988. lot 1190

The inscription reads: ON DIR HAB ICH GERISEN DAS ICH MICH HAB BESCHISEN (I have written on you that I have beshit myself).

NFS

Pacienta (Patience)

Harris Schrank — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:35:10 +0000

Beham - Pacientia

Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550), Pacienta (Patience), engraving, 1540 [signed, dated, titled, and inscribed in the plate]. Reference: Bartsch 138, Pauli 141. In good condition, trimmed on or just inside the platemark, 4 1/8 x 2 13/16 inches.

Printed on laid paper with a partial Crest of Nuremberg, Small watermark (Meder watermark 210, Briquet 917); this watermark is found on a German drawing 1643 and Durer prints circa mid 16th Century.

Provenance: ex Collection Delores D. Di Paola (not in Lugt)

A fine impression of this interesting composition: Patience protects a lamb while a rather unattractive creature next to her seemingly contemplates the possibility that Patience will tire of this exercise, and let the lamb loose. But Patience being who she is, Creature will probably have a long wait.

Ornament with Two Genii Riding on Two Chimeras

Harris Schrank — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:15:12 +0000

Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550), Ornament with Two Genii Riding on Two Chimeras, engraving, 1544 [with initials and date in the plate]. References: Bartsch 236, Hollstein 241, Pauli 241, third state (of 4, but see note below). In very good condition, trimmed on the borderline, slight thinning bottom verso, 1 1/4 x 4 inches.

A superb impression; impressions of this quality are of the greatest rarity in today’s print market.

The state progression of this print is subtle, e.g., the second state is identified as one hatching on the shank of the genius on the left, the third as “with a third diagonal hatching on some parts of the background”, and the fourth as a fourth vertical hatching between the body of the left genius and the back of the chimera. We have had difficulty assessing the state but believe this is an early impression based on it’s extraordinary quality.

Beham was one of the Northern Renaissance Little Masters, so called because of their eminence in producing small-scale engravings such as Ornament with Two Genii Riding on Two Chimeras. Beham was born in Nuremberg in 1500, and may have trained under Durer, though his training is no more certain than that of his younger brother Barthel. He made his first engraving in 1518, and later became known for producing woodcuts, as well as engravings.

This is one of the tiny prints Beham which no doubt served as the basis for decoration of objects during the Northern Renaissance, objects such as clocks, locks, cups, ceramics, stained glass windows, boxes, cabinets, swords, etc.

Hercules and Cerberus

Harris Schrank — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:00:27 +0000

Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550), Hercules and Cerberus, engraving, 1545. Bartsch 100, Pauli 104, Hollstein 67, second state (of 3) [with initials, date and title in the plate]. In very good condition, trimmed on the platemark but outside of the borderline, 2 1/4 x 3 inches.

Provenance: I.H. von Hefner, Alteneck (Lugt 1254, his stamp on verso)

A fine impression.

This shows the last of Hercules’s labors: pulling Cerberus out of the underworld. To do this he got Pluto to bring the monstrous dog into the light of day, but on the condition that Hercules would not use his weapons to drag Cerberus – and so his weapons can be seen on the ground.

The buildings burning in the background are borrowed from a Caraglio print of the same subject; Beham borrowed heavily from Italian sources for his Labors, and in fact his entire series appears to have been based on Caraglio’s series.

A Mask Held by Two Genii (First State)

Harris Schrank — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:40:29 +0000

Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550), A Mask Held by Two Genii (First State) 1544, engraving, Bartsch 228, Pauli, Hollstein 232, first state (of 2), [initialed and dated in the plate], in excellent condition, trimmed on the platemark but outside of the borderline, archival mounting. 1 15/16 x 2 7/8 inches.

A brilliant impression of the rare first state.

In the second state lines were added to the right hand of the geni at the left; in this first state impression these lines have yet to be added (see detail below).

Provenance: Unidentified collector EW (with initials in graphite verso, not located in Lugt).

Beham was one of the Northern Renaissance Little Masters, so called because of their eminence in producing small-scale engravings such as A Mask Held by Two Genii. Beham was born in Nuremberg in 1500, and may have trained under Durer, though his training is no more certain than that of his younger brother Barthel. He made his first engraving in 1518, and later became known for producing woodcuts, as well as engravings.

A Mask Held by two Genii is one of the better known small prints made by Beham which has (apparently) served as the basis for decoration of objects during the Northern Renaissance, objects such as clocks, locks, cups, ceramics, stained glass windows, boxes, cabinets, swords, etc.

Detail

A Mask Held by Two Genii (Second State)

Harris Schrank — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:00:25 +0000

Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550), A Mask Held by Two Genii, 1544, engraving, Bartsch 228, Pauli, Hollstein 232, second state of two,[initialed and dated in the plate], in very good condition, trimmed on or possibly just into the platemark but outside of the borderline (on the borderline at left), some ink drawing verso not visible recto, archival mounting. 1 15/16 x 2 7/8 inches.

A fine black evenly printed and clear impression. In this second state lines have been added to the right hand of the genius at the left.

Provenance: Dr. Karl Herweg, with his stamp verso (not in Lugt).

Two Fools – The Folly of Love

Harris Schrank — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 02:03:23 +0000

Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550), an engraving after Beham’s Two Fools (or Fool and Foolish Woman), engraving, c 1540, a copy or impression in reverse of Pauli 215, Bartsch 213, the copy after the first state. In excellent condition, trimmed on or just outside or inside the plate mark, on old laid paper, numerous notes in pencil verso, 1 15/16 x 2 1/16 inches.

A brilliant impression of this famous image, after the Beham composition.

The subject matter for this print was addressed by numerous artists in the 15th and 16th centuries. In this rendering the allusions refer to the folly of love. For example, the man holds what was known as the “fool’s stick”, an instrument with obvious phallic references. The woman rests her hand on a vessel, a reference to female sexuality. The man holds a flagon of wine – wine drinking was at the time a metaphor for love-making. Many prints of the time show flies or dragonflies flying around a lover’s head in association with love; here three dragon flies circle the man, but another is aiming toward the woman.

Detail

Virgin and Child with the Pear

Harris Schrank — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:44:06 +0000

Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550), Virgin and Child with the Pear, engraving, 1520. Initials monogram and date in the plate. References: Bartsch 18, Pauli, Hollstein 19. First state (of two). In good condition, on old laid paper with thread margins on three sides, trimmed on the platemark bottom right and bottom, and archival mounting. h: 4.5 x w: 3 in / h: 11.4 x w: 7.6 cm

A very good impression of this rarity.

Hollstein indicates that earlier impressions, such as this one, do not have a scratch above the head of the Virgin.

Beham was one of the Northern Renaissance Little Masters, so called because of their eminence in producing small-scale engravings such as the Virgin and Child with a Pear. Beham was born in Nuremberg in 1500, and may have trained under Durer, though his training is no more certain than that of his younger brother Barthel. He made his first engraving in 1518, and later became known for producing woodcuts as well.

Beham’s Madonna with the Pear has a similar composition but in reverse to Durer’s engraving of the same subject done only 9 years earlier. In both prints the Madonna rests against a tree and holds the pear away from the Child; Durer’s image is larger and includes a city background; Beham draws no clouds or buildings in the space next to the Virgin, but instead features her long curly hair blowing towards the right.

The pear as a pacifier as opposed to the “apple of discord” or temptation occurs as an attribute of the Virgin in a sculpture at the Cathedral at Chartres, completed in 1240.