Gentleman in a Wig with Basel Spalentor Border, Etching, Plate Dated 1787

About this sheet

An original etched portrait of an elderly gentleman in a curled wig, signed in the plate "D. B. f. 1787", with border decorations drawn from the city of Basel.

The sitter is shown at half length, turned to the left, his heavy face lined and shadowed, his eyes looking out with a wary, slightly melancholy expression. He wears a tightly curled wig, a lace jabot and a long buttoned coat with deep cuffs, one hand tucked into the front. The etching is free and vigorous, with cross hatched shadows and a lightly bitten background.

To the left runs a narrow vertical border with three statues on pedestals beneath slender Gothic pinnacles, lettered "Spalen Thor": these are the figures of the Virgin and two prophets on the Spalentor, the great Gothic gate of Basel. Beneath the portrait a frieze shows a lively procession dated "1694", with fifers, standard bearers, a jester, a griffin, a wild man carrying an uprooted fir tree and a lion, figures that recall the traditional processions of the Basel guild societies. The signature "D. B. f. 1787", meaning made by D. B., is written in reverse in the upper right corner of the image.

The plate is printed on a broad sheet with deckled edges, the plate mark standing well clear of the image. Etched portraits of this kind, made for private circles rather than the trade, are characteristic of the lively local art of Basel in the late eighteenth century, and their borders often carry references that local viewers would have recognized at once.

An unusual and characterful print, of particular interest to collectors of Swiss and Basel history and of eighteenth century etching.

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.