Tomb of Louis de Brézé, Rouen, Antique Steel Engraving after Hodson, circa 1877
€ 300
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1877
Mapmaker / artist
S.J. Hodson (artist), R. Hinshelwood (engraver)
Publisher
Cassell, Petter & Galpin, London
Technique
Steel engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-13194-68
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 age toning; light handling soiling along the edges and a few small spots in the margins. Printed image clean.
About this sheet
A grand Renaissance wall monument rises in tiers against the Gothic piers of a great church in this upright steel engraving. At the top an armored horseman rides beneath a niche between paired caryatid figures, statues stand at the summit, and below, between dark columns, a recumbent figure lies on a sarcophagus. Beside it, at the left, is an older Gothic canopied tomb with soaring pinnacles. In the foreground a woman in a wide white headdress kneels in prayer with a small child, and a few rush-seated chairs stand on the stone floor.
The plate is lettered "Tomb of Louis de Brézé, Rouen Cathedral." Louis de Brézé, Grand Seneschal of Normandy, died in 1531, and his tomb in the Lady Chapel of Rouen Cathedral was commissioned by his widow, Diane de Poitiers. It is one of the finest Renaissance monuments in France, showing the deceased both as a corpse and as a mounted knight. The drawing is credited to S.J. Hodson and the engraving to R. Hinshelwood, with the imprint of Cassell, Petter & Galpin of London.
The print is a steel engraving in black ink on wove paper, uncolored. Hinshelwood records the sculpture and the leaded windows behind it in great detail, while the soft light on the floor and the kneeling figures give the scene warmth.
For lovers of French architecture and history, it would look distinguished in a library or stairwell in a dark wood frame with a wide mat.
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.
