1721 Copper Engraving Portrait Isabella Clara Eugenia Austria Spanish EUM1

This is an original 1721 black and white copper engraving of "Isabella Clara Eugenia, Königs Philippi II, Tochter, Alberti Ertz Hertzogs von Österreich Gemahlin." This is a portrait of Isabella Clara Eugenia of Austria, daughter of Philip II of Spain and his third wife Elisabeth of Valois, Infanta of Spain and Portugal, wife of Albert VII, Archduke of Austria with whom she jointly reigned over the Spainish Netherlands in the Low Countries and the north of France. She and her husband employed the visual arts to further their political agenda to all Flemish social classes, relying upon the Baroque style popularized in the wake of the Catholic Reformation. Isabella and Albert VII thus stimulated the growth of the Flemish Baroque, becoming patrons of Peter Paul Rubens, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Coebergher, the De Nole family, and the Van Veens, ushering in the beginning of a Golden Age in the Southern Netherlands and transforming their Court at Brussels into one of the foremost political and artistic centers of Europe at the time. Upon the death of Albert in 1621, Isabella joined the Third Order of St. Francis, hence her depiction wearing the nun's habit in this portrait. The portrait is framed by a wonderful decorative motif featuring filigreed designs and a stylized skull with wings at the bottom of the print.

CONDITION

This 290+ year old Item is rated Near Mint / Very Fine. Light foxing and aging. No creases. No natural defects.No surface rub.No tears. No water damage. Please note: There is a plate impression bordering the image in this print.

• Product Type: Original Copper Engraving; Black / White
• Grade: Near Mint / Very Fine
• Dimensions: Approximately 8 x 13.5 inches; 20 x 34 cm
• Authentication: Serial-Numbered Certificate of Authenticity w/ Full Provenance
• Protection: Packaged in a custom archival sleeve with an acid-free black board (great for display, gift-giving, and preservation)

Period Paper is pleased to offer an extremely rare and impressive early eighteenth century collection of biographies and portrait engravings and etchings, produced in Leipzig, Germany in 1721 and 1722. Included are notable monarchs, rulers, religious figures, and members of notable Houses throughout Europe, including several genealogical charts of dynastic lines, spanning the sixteenth to early eighteenth centuries. The collection is comprised of exquisitely engraved and etched copper portrait plates framed by varying decorative motifs, all engraved by Johann Friedrich Rosbach. Many of the portraits include separate biographical pieces ranging in length from a single paragraph to several pages for more notable European monarchs and emperors. If present, the accompanying text is in German and is composed of beautiful woodcut text, with most pages containing elegantly etched drop cap initials, head-and tail-pieces and vignettes. The superb, folio-sized stock upon which the collection is engraved and etched employed the latest advances in eighteenth century paper making and highlights the era's predilection for strong, lightly sized paper with a fine structure and smooth surface. The paper's characteristics are thus similar to Japanese Gampi, and the result is well-preserved and crisp images that exceptionally capture Rosbach's fluid and sharp line work. This collection represents a unique opportunity to collect a valuable part of European history stunningly composed and illustrated.

Keywords specific to this image: Rosary, Bible, Holy Roman Empire, Habsburg Empire, Habsburg Dynasty, Habsburg Monarchy, Austrian Monarchy, Spanish Netherlands, Thirty Years' War, Catholic Couner-Reformation, Catholic Reformation, Catholic Revival, European History, European Royalty, European Nobility

EUM1C21