View in Milan, Italy, Washerwomen by a River, Antique Engraving, circa 1785
€ 220
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1785
Mapmaker / artist
Unsigned engraving
Publisher
Not named on the sheet
Technique
Engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14391-57
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
Good condition for its age. Light toning; scattered foxing to the margins, heavier along the upper margin with a few dark spots at upper left. Please review the images for further condition details.
About this sheet
This engraving shows a river landscape with washerwomen at work on a grassy bank at left. One balances a bundle on her head, another wrings out a long cloth, and others kneel at the water's edge to rinse linen. Behind them rises a rocky outcrop crowned by a ruined square tower, crenellated walls with an arched gateway and a house with a tiled roof. In the center a multi arched stone bridge crosses the river in the middle distance, and on the right a fisherman wades in the shallows with a net, beside a gnarled willow growing from the opposite bank, where baskets lie on the ground. The sky is engraved in fine ruled lines with banks of cloud.
The plate is lettered VIEW IN MILAN. in open capitals beneath the image. There are no artist or engraver credits.
The composition belongs to the tradition of the Italianate river landscape popularized by painters such as Claude Joseph Vernet, with its picturesque grouping of laundresses, fishermen, ruined towers and old bridges, and it is closer to an idealized scene of the countryside around Milan than to an exact topographical record. Views of this kind, published in London for an audience fascinated by Italy and the Grand Tour, offered the charm of the southern landscape and everyday life to those who had traveled and to those who only dreamed of doing so.
The engraving is cleanly printed with a full plate mark, and its fine linear technique, ruled sky and neat open lettering are typical of London book and magazine plates of the 1780s. It is an attractive and decorative Italian view with a lively group of figures.
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.
