Pieter Mortier, Zimri Burns His Palace and Elijah Fed by the Ravens, Pieter 1700, Engraving

Details

Description

This original copperplate engraving from Pieter Mortier's illustrated Bible, Amsterdam circa 1700, shows two biblical scenes on one sheet: 1 … Read more This original copperplate engraving from Pieter Mortier's illustrated Bible, Amsterdam circa 1700, shows two biblical scenes on one sheet: 1 Kings 16:18, Zimri sets fire to his palace, and 1 Kings 17:4 to 6, Elijah fed by the ravens. The upper scene illustrates 1 Kings chapter 16, verse 18, the end of Zimri, who reigned only seven days: when he saw the city of Tirzah taken, he went into the royal palace, set it on fire and died in the flames. Soldiers storm the burning building, and the king is seen amid the fire at an upper window. The lower scene shows 1 Kings chapter 17, verses 4 to 6, where Elijah hides by the brook Cherith and is fed by ravens that bring him bread and meat morning and evening. The prophet sits in a quiet riverside landscape among reeds and trees as a raven swoops down to him. Each scene carries its own engraved caption with the scripture reference in Dutch and French, and the sheet is numbered 101 in the lower margin. Pieter Mortier, the Amsterdam publisher and bookseller, issued his illustrated Bible circa 1700 as a showpiece of Dutch Baroque printmaking. Its contributing artists included Gerard Hoet, Arnold Houbraken and Bernard Picart, and the plates present the biblical narrative as a sequence of theatrical scenes, crowded with figures and set among classical architecture and wide landscapes. This sheet is signed in the lower margin by Ottmar Elliger as designer, and no engraver's signature is visible. The sheet is printed on laid paper with full margins, and the reverse is blank. The sheet would suit a library, a study or a quiet corner of a living room, where its fine line work rewards close viewing. Hung in a group with other Mortier plates, it becomes part of a continuous illustrated narrative of the Books of Kings. The sheet is in good condition for its age, with light toning, a faint tide line and a frayed right edge with small chips and a short tear, all in the margins; the image is clean. This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed. See less