Gerrit Pietersz.

The printed oeuvre of Gerrit Pietersz, which consists of only six etchings, assumes a unique role within Dutch mannerist printmaking. During the 1580s, Pietersz was a student of Cornelis van Haarlem in the city of the same name and was part of the circle around Hendrick Goltzius and Karel van Mander. In 1593 he moved to Antwerp and subsequently spent a few years in Rome before finally settling in Amsterdam around 1600. Stylistically, Pietersz's etchings are very different from the common engraving style introduced by Goltzius and characterized by a rigid system of individual swelling lines. Pietersz's very free and spontaneous technique is much more reminiscent of etchings by Bartholomäus Spranger, who created three comparable prints in 1589. Both Spranger's and Pietersz's etchings are characterized by their experimental nature. These are attempts of an almost private nature, which served to explore the medium of etching and its artistic possibilities. It is likely that no larger editions were ever printed.

The impressive composition of this exceedingly rare etching is remarkable as a result of its daring simplification of forms and reduction to the essential. The figure of the Madonna is rendered in loose, fluid lines, while Joseph rests right next to her and bows his head in a contemplative, solicitous pose. Heavy, flowing draperies separate the figure group from the background; on the right, the view opens onto a landscape, which is masterly defined by only a few lines. A superb, differentiated and strong impression with many wiping scratches and a beautiful plate tone, the auxiliary lines for the inscriptions clearly visible. Printed on a warmly patinated paper with a contemporary watermark, with even margins around the partly inky plate mark. The impression of the first state before the address of Starterus described by Hollstein, which is in the Rijksprentenkabinet in Amsterdam, is probably unique. Impressions of the second state are also extremely rare on the print market. Minor ageing, otherwise in mint condition.

65.000 €