Saenredam engraving

JAN SAENREDAM                   Zaandam 1565 - 1607 Assendelft

Vertumnus and Pomona.

Engraving after Abraham Bloemaert; 1605.  Hollstein 87, Roethlisberger, Abraham Bloemaert and his sons, cat. no. 86, the first of four states and the only state printed in the lifetime of the artist. A brilliant impression in excellent, fresh condition trimmed between the border of the image and the platemark all around.  Provenance: Augustinus Arnold, not in Lugt; Falkeisen und Huber, Lugt 1008 as Füssli, later corrected. This is the finest impression of this engraving we have encountered in trade, and the only one which effectively conveys Bloemaert’s subject.

Roethlisberger points out the connection of our engraving with a painting of the same subject in a private collection in Malibu, California. He knows of no drawing directly preparatory for the engraving and observes that Saenredam modified the composition of Bloemaert’s painting considerably. He points out that Saenredam’s engraving is the earliest Dutch print devoted entirely to the subject.

Saenredam, along with Hendrick Goltzius, Jan Muller, Jacob Matham and Jacques de Gheyn, is one of the chief figures of Dutch Mannerism. Saenredam did not begin working with the Mannerists until 1589. Until 1595 he studied briefly with Goltzius and de Gheyn, and he developed an engraving style that reflected in particular that of Goltzius. By 1600 Saenredam’s engraving style had further matured although he continued to engrave images after other artists, like Goltzius or Bloemaert.  His handling of light and shade with very fine lines resulted in a supple and delicate sense of form, quite different the other artists of the group.

Vertumnus and Pomona, one of the artist’s large-scale engravings, shows the artist’s gift for contrasts of texture and tone; the flesh of the youthful Pomona is juxtaposed with the garments of Vertumnus, the bark of the trees and plants at her feet. The brilliance of the impression, the finest we have seen in trade, enhances the physical sumptuousness of the image.

The story from Ovid’s Metamorphoses concerns the love of Vertumnus for Pomona. He was finally able to woo her successfully by adopting the form of an old woman, as seen in our engraving. Saenredam enhanced Bloemaert’s design with his command of detail and his refined graphic technique.

476 x 358 mm    18 ¾ x 14 1/8 inches