The Matchmaker

Ludolph Büsinck

1599/1602 – Hannoversch Münden – 1669

Chiaroscuro woodcut in black, olive green and ochre. After Georges Lallemand. Sheet size: 34.2 x 22.1 cm. Stechow 23. Strauss 96 II.

Beautifully even, harmonious impression with visible relief. With small margins around the border line. Impressive example.

A characteristic product of the school of Lorraine. The image of the old woman is believed to be based on a sketch by Jacques Bellange (Strauss, p.192). Georges Lallemand was born in Nancy in the late 1590s and later taught Nicolas Poussin. He died in Paris around 1640.

The German painter and printmaker Büsinck was instrumental in popularising the chiaroscuro woodcut in Paris when he worked there from 1623-30. His prints from this period – all bar two after Lallemand – are almost all in this technique. A collaboration between Lallemand and Büsinck is likely. Lallemand woud thus have influenced Büsinck’s woodcuts directly.

Bought by a museum, Germany.