14/01/2017

Baroque flower etching

The latest item listed on Etsy by the Transylvanian trove is a lovely small print after an original eighteenth-century plate. The central element is a heart-shaped composition of finely engraved flowers, an appealing Baroque decoration.

1772 engraving plate hand pulled in 2014


Under the central floral composition one can see on the left a small city vedutta  and the engraver's name and year: Josephus Vasarhelly (in Latinized Hungarian meaning Joseph from Vasarhellyi=Targu Mures) 1772. According to the artist's name, the city of fortification depicted is Targu Mures, in Transylvania.
Etching, numbered in pencil 9/I. This means it is one of the first prints in the series, with good-quality details.
Dimensions: 7.7 x 8.5 cm (3 x 3.3 inches), not framed, in good condition, reprint made in 2014 by the National History Museum of Transylvania in Cluj-Napoca, Romania after one of the eighteenth century printing plates in its collection. According to the name, the author was a Hungarian master from Transylvania. The 2014 print, the ninth in the series, is hand-pulled in sanguin typographic ink on printmaking paper with the dry stamp of the museum. 

detail with the city vedutta and the marking "sc: Josephus Vasarhellyi" (made by Joseph of Targu Mures)

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