Crispijn de de Passe (I) - Three engravings (only edition 1900) The life of Christ

Crispijn van de Passe de Oude 1564-1637 Three engravings (print 1900) from the series The Life of Christ (1588) From this the numbers 16 The betrayal of Judas, 17 The capture and 41 The entombment. The engravings are unsigned and not included in Hollstein and Bartsch. The first, only and probably last edition is from 1900. The surviving correspondence and accounts from the year 1588 of the publisher Moretus from Antwerp show that funds were paid to Maarten de Vos for the use of his examples, and to Crispijn van de Passe (the elder) for the production of 46 copper engravings. , depicting the Life of Christ. In addition to the correspondence, all original copper plates have been preserved and have come into the possession of Museum Plantin-Moretus. For unknown (probably financial) reasons, the series was not printed at the time. There are no earlier prints and because the engravings were often only signed in the margin during printing, they have remained unsigned. Museum Plantin-Moretus received permission in 1900 to print the entire series once in a limited edition. Since then, the copper plates must remain unused as cultural heritage. The engravings offered here come from the only edition from 1900. Images from a later date are offset copies. The three engravings measure 8.9 x 6.8 cm to the contour line, beyond that 1 mm to the press edge and beyond that a margin of 5 mm (nos. 16 and 17) and 4 mm (no. 41). They are in excellent condition. Plantin Moretus has, quite correctly, made a pinprick hole in two extreme corners of each engraving because they are later prints.