Artist: José de Ribera (Espagnolet) (1591-1652), Spanish Neapolitan painter, draughtsman, and etcher.
Intermediary draughtsman: Jean Honoré Fragonard [Dessiné à Naples par Fragonard] (1732-1806) Painter and etcher; pupil of Chardin, then Boucher, accompanied Saint-Non on his trip across Italy.
Intermediary engraver: Benoît Louis Prévost (French, c.1735-1804), engraver and designer, who worked for Diderot's Encyclopédie, and made many plates after Cochin.
Engraver: André-Gaspard-Parfait, comte de Bizemont-Prunelé (France, 1752-1837), collector, and amateur draughtsman and engraver; deputy mayor in 1823 and from 1824 first curator of the Musée de la Ville Orléans, which he founded.
Title: "Le Christ mort, d’après l’Espagnolet", modified reverted copy after the engraving by Prevost "Lamentation over the dead body of Christ" after Ribera [dans la sacristie de l'Eglise des Chartreux à Naples], an illustration from the 'Voyage pittoresque ou Description des Royaumes de Naples et de Sicile' by Saint Non's, amateur etcher and aquatinter; patron of Fragonard and Robert; sponsor of the 'Voyage Pittoresque de Naples et de Sicile' of 1781-6.
Titled, Dated, and Signed in plate: Bizemont Sc. 1782.
Dimensions: Image 6" x 4 3/4".
Date: 1782.
Materials and Techniques: etching on laid paper.
Provenance:
- Monogram AU stamp in ink in Gothic script verso. (Not in Lugt).
- The Estate of George "Yorgo" Demetrakopoulos; professor, assistant director of the Medieval Institute, and assistant to the dean at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, from 1965-2000.
Condition: A tear to the right margin, wear, and remnants of glue. The signs of aging are appropriate for the time. A detailed condition report is available on demand.
Catalog Raisonne: Davoust, Emile. Le comte de Bizemont : artiste-amateur Orléanais: son oeuvre et ses collections. Orléans : H. Herluison, 1891. P. 88, No. 61.
Museums and Libraries: The British Museum for the engraving by Prévost 1889,0603.306-307 or 1849,1208.30.
Art Movements, Periods & Schools: Spanish School XVII C. French School XVIII C.
Note: This entry incorporates text from Wikipedia and the catalog entry of a similar item from the British Museum collection.