The drunken Silenus

Reference: S17260
Author Christoffel JEGHER
Year: 1630 ca.
Measures: 340 x 440 mm
Not Available

Reference: S17260
Author Christoffel JEGHER
Year: 1630 ca.
Measures: 340 x 440 mm
Not Available

Description

Woodcut, signed on lower right.

Magnificent work, printed on contemporary laid paper, with complete marginal line, a repaired tear on verso and horizontal signs of print, otherwise in good condition.

This composition has been conceived by Rubens, master of Jegher. As a very skilled pupil, he was always in charge of the realization of woodcuts depicting the oils masterpieces that the Flemish artist meant to publish.

The woodcuts realized by Jegher, which bear a very strong and excellent stroke, give the illusion of a pencil drawing.

This particular work is among the best ever realized by Jegher, maybe drawn after a precise model, either a painting or a drawing, provided by Rubens himself, who also published it.

Probably after a design by Rubens and made under his supervision (described under Rooses 680, p.164). The satyr and the faun are after a painting by Rubens ('Drunken Bacchus') of which a copy by Rubens' circle is in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Angers (Rooses 575). A preparatory drawn modello is in the Cabinet de dessins, Musée du Louvre, Paris.

Literature

Le Blanc 14, Hollstein 16 II/III; Bodart, Rubens e l’incisione 156.

Christoffel JEGHER (Anversa 1596 - 1652/53)

Christoffel Jegher or Christophe Jegher, born around 1596 and died around 1652, was a Flemish engraver, whose family originated from the province of Silesia, and who was active in Antwerp in the 17th century. From 1625 on, Christoffel Jegher worked as an xylographer in the printing house run by Christophe Plantin in Antwerp. He produced book illustrations, ornaments and woodcuts with Christian religious themes. In 1627-1628 Jegher was admitted to the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke as a wood engraver. It is assumed that he imitated the style of Christoffel van Sichem the Elder. In 1630, he was present in the workshop of Peter Paul Rubens as a wood engraver and from 1633 onwards, the collaboration between Rubens and Jegher intensified, and Jegher's style of wood engraving several important works that the Flemish master intended to publish changed profoundly. Done under the watchful eye of the latter, they are executed with great virtuosity and create the illusion of pen-and-ink drawing. From 1630 on, Christoffel Jegher also produced a series of woodcuts based on drawings by Erasmus Quellinus and Frans Francken I. His son Jan Christoffel Jegher continued the tradition and engraved works by Antoine Sallaert.

Literature

Le Blanc 14, Hollstein 16 II/III; Bodart, Rubens e l’incisione 156.

Christoffel JEGHER (Anversa 1596 - 1652/53)

Christoffel Jegher or Christophe Jegher, born around 1596 and died around 1652, was a Flemish engraver, whose family originated from the province of Silesia, and who was active in Antwerp in the 17th century. From 1625 on, Christoffel Jegher worked as an xylographer in the printing house run by Christophe Plantin in Antwerp. He produced book illustrations, ornaments and woodcuts with Christian religious themes. In 1627-1628 Jegher was admitted to the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke as a wood engraver. It is assumed that he imitated the style of Christoffel van Sichem the Elder. In 1630, he was present in the workshop of Peter Paul Rubens as a wood engraver and from 1633 onwards, the collaboration between Rubens and Jegher intensified, and Jegher's style of wood engraving several important works that the Flemish master intended to publish changed profoundly. Done under the watchful eye of the latter, they are executed with great virtuosity and create the illusion of pen-and-ink drawing. From 1630 on, Christoffel Jegher also produced a series of woodcuts based on drawings by Erasmus Quellinus and Frans Francken I. His son Jan Christoffel Jegher continued the tradition and engraved works by Antoine Sallaert.