Hercules, Faunus and Omphale

Léon Davent active in Paris and Fontainbleau from 1540 to 1556

Engraving after Francesco Primaticcio. Sheet size: 21.9 x 40.7 cm.
Watermark: small circle.

Literature: Zerner 9, The French Renaissance in Prints, Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1995, pp.. 248-249, cat. no. 45 (with ill.)

Provenance: Salomon Gautier (First quarter of the eighteenth century, Paris and Amsterdarm) (Lugt. 2977)

One of nine engravings by this artist.

Very good impression in dark brown; certainly comparable in quality to the impression in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

Very well preserved, without tears. Untouched and fresh.

‘Of the nine engravings by Davent catalogued by Zerner, most, including this one, show a mastery of the medium. Here the touch is light, more appropriate to etching, and at a point probably not long after making this print, Davent abandoned engraving for that less laborious medium, which he used for the rest of his life’ (Suzanne Boorsch, in op.cit., 1995, p. 249, cat.no.. 45 (with ill.).

Bought by a private collection, Germany.