Pair of Antique Chromolithographs of Louis XII and His Court, 1882
€ 255
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1882
Mapmaker / artist
A. Danne, lithographer
Publisher
Georges Hurtrel, artiste-editeur, 35 rue d'Assas, Paris
Technique
Chromolithograph
Coloring
Printed color
Sheet size
28 × 19 cm (11.0 × 7.5 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14437-1-5
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Light uneven toning, browner towards the edges. Marked handling soiling along the edges of both sheets. Light foxing in the margins of both sheets. Slight wear at the corners of one of the two sheets.
About this sheet
A set of two original antique chromolithographs of Louis XII and his court from Paul Lacroix's Louis XII et Anne de Bretagne, published in Paris by Georges Hurtrel in 1882, sold together as one set of two sheets. The first sheet reproduces Louis XII in a gold robe gesturing toward the enthroned figure of Good Fortune in blue and white, with Queen Anne kneeling in crimson and holding their daughter Claude, and the lords and ladies of the court behind, all in a wide landscape of towns, fields and soldiers. It comes from the French translation of Petrarch's remedies against fortune made for the king. The second sheet reproduces Louis XII, crowned and enthroned in a blue mantle sewn with gold fleurs de lis and lined with ermine, receiving a bound book from the kneeling translator of Petrarch's remedies against good and bad fortune, while his courtiers look on. Gilt columns frame the scene, and above it two putti hold shields on either side of the crowned royal arms.
Louis XII et Anne de Bretagne is one of the lavish illustrated histories published in Paris in the 1880s, issued by Georges Hurtrel, artiste-editeur. Its text is by Paul Lacroix, the Bibliophile Jacob, and its fourteen chromolithographs reproduce miniatures, portraits, glass and objects from the Bibliotheque Nationale, the Musee de Cluny and the Musee d'Artillerie. The book is dated 1882 on its title page. The plates were printed in many colors with gold by the Imprimerie Lemercier et Cie of Paris, whose imprint appears at the lower right of each, and lithographed by A. Danne. The color is printed throughout, not applied by hand.
Both miniatures come from the same manuscript made for Louis XII, the French translation of Petrarch's remedies against fortune, and both were lithographed by A. Danne. Plates like this brought the illuminated manuscripts and treasures of the royal library within reach of ordinary readers for the first time, and they remain among the most vivid images of the court of Louis XII available to collectors. For a collector of French history, heraldry or manuscript illumination they are a ready made group from one book.
Light uneven toning, browner towards the edges. Marked handling soiling along the edges of both sheets. Light foxing in the margins of both sheets. Slight wear at the corners of one of the two sheets. Brown marks on both sheets.
These are original antique prints, not modern reproductions. They are two original sheets sold together as one lot, and the set is never split. 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.
