Maaskamp, The Art of Drawing Presenting Her Work to Mercury, 1811, Engraving

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An original antique hand colored engraving from evert maaskamp's dutch costume series, published in amsterdam in 1811, lettered in dutch … Read more An original antique hand colored engraving from evert maaskamp's dutch costume series, published in amsterdam in 1811, lettered in dutch "de teken-kunst overhandigt haaren arbeid aan mercuur." and in french "la muse du dessin remet son ouvrage à mercure." in a central lozenge mercury, in a winged helmet and blue drapery, leans out of the clouds with one hand raised, as the seated muse of drawing holds up an open book of drawings to him. She wears a white tunic and a crimson mantle bordered in gold, a stylus in her other hand and a portfolio with a medallion at her feet. To the left a vase of pink roses stands on a pedestal carved with a figure drawing. The lozenge sits within a salmon pink frame with leaf garlands and four gray green triangles holding gold trophies of the arts and of trade. The captions translate as "the art of drawing hands her work to mercury" and "the muse of drawing delivers her work to mercury". Below the border at left is "j. Kuyper, inv. Et delin." and at right "l. Portman, sculp." the imprint reads "amsterdam 1811. Bij e. Maaskamp, hoek van de kalverstraat en dam. No. 1." with "london publish'd by colnaghi & co. Cockspur street. No. 43." below it. The plate belongs to evert maaskamp's afbeeldingen van de kleedingen, zeden en gewoonten in holland, published in amsterdam with parallel dutch and french captions and offered in london through colnaghi and co. The series records the dress, manners and customs of the northern netherlands in numbered plates, each a small scene within a ruled border, and many of the captions are a line of dialogue spoken by one of the figures. This allegorical plate was designed and drawn by j. Kuyper, who is credited as director on the scenes of the series, and it was engraved by l. Portman and finished by hand in watercolor. A single plate frames well on its own with the full caption showing, and a few plates from the series hung together make a coherent group of dutch scenes. Condition: wide margins with light, even age toning; a few small spots in the margins. 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