Anonymous Master, workshop of Romeyn de Hooghe
Nvmos Ecce Probos Negat Et Nego Prodere Porro De Ridder der Louisen [de Maatigheid – la Temperance].
A Dutch satire on the alleged treachery of Louis, Margrave of Baden, one of the commanders of the Imperial forces. On the left Louis (1; labelled “Louis le Petit”), elegantly dressed, sits at a round table, supported by the Imperial eagle. “The Assayer”, i.e. Louis XIV (2), dressed as Harlequin stands on the right, tempting the margrave with tinkling coins hanging from a triangle; further coins rest on the table with a box for coin weights, and in dishes and bags (one labelled as a present from Louis XIII [sic], the other from Madame de Maintenon) on the ground together with a flask of spring water and a military cross. Behind Harlequin is a tent decorated with fleur-de-lis and an inscription referring to the French ally, Maximilian of Bavaria. In the distance a view of the spa town of Schwalbach on the Aar, an arrow indicating that the river flows towards Louis and France. Engraved chronogram at the top of the sheet, title below, numerous inscriptions in Dutch within the image; verses in Dutch and French below. Numbered at bottom right: ‘3’. From a set of 7 seven plates included in ”t Lust-Hof van Momus, Beplant met de voornaamste Gewassen van Mars in Europa, Een opgepronkt met Staat-kundige Zinnebeelden Des Tegenwoordigen Oorlogs’, Abraham Allard, 1713. The British Museum holds another state of this same etching, without number and without references to the virtue of Temperance at the bottom of the plate.
SKU: 64481
Etching on paper, with margins; plate mark: 262 x 168, total: 313 x 195 mm, state II/2 (?); in good condition despite a tear and a small loss of the right margin. Tiny hole close to the head of ‘Louis le Petit’ other almost undetectable holes on the bottom part.
€ 290,40 (€ 240,00 ex. btw)