{"id":396,"date":"2021-05-13T16:59:48","date_gmt":"2021-05-13T16:59:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/museum.middcreate.net\/projects\/early-modern-dutch-prints\/?page_id=396"},"modified":"2021-06-03T17:00:40","modified_gmt":"2021-06-03T17:00:40","slug":"venus-honored-with-gifts-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/museum.middcreate.net\/projects\/early-modern-dutch-prints\/venus-honored-with-gifts-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Venus Honored with Gifts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Venus Honored with Gifts (Venus Receiving Flowers, Fruits, and Birds from Nymphs)<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

ARTIST: Jan Harmensz Muller (Dutch, 1571 \u2013 1628), after Bartholomaeus Spranger (Flemish, 1546 \u2013 1611)
DATE: c. 1591
TECHNIQUE: Engraving<\/a>
DIMENSIONS: Image: 26.1 x 20 cm, Platemark<\/a>: 28.5 x 20.3 cm
STATE<\/a>: II\/V
WATERMARK<\/a>: Unidentifiable in bottom center of print; crest with strapwork borders
INSCRIPTION: Lettered in plate, in lower left margin: \u201cEn Veneri ter grata deae munusculla, vultu quae promunt nymphae, satyri, genjq, sereno\u201d; in lower right: \u201cPomum, Flos, Vitis, Petulans bis iun cta Columba, An non mollitiem spirant luxumq loquuntur!\u201d; in lower center: \u201cTu, quem casta iuuant socialis feodera lecti, Has fugito pestes rabido cane pieus & angue.\u201d; signature in lower left: \u201cB.us Sprangers inventor. \/ JMuller sculptor.\u201d’; in lower right: \u201cHarman Muller excud. Amsterodami.\u201d
CATALOGUE REFERENCE: Hollstein Dutch 202.73 II\/V, Bartsch 73
CREDIT LINE: Gift of Barbara P. Taft & Hugh M. Taft \u201844
PROVENANCE: Purchased from Wm. H. Schab Gallery, 1981
COLLECTOR\u2019S MARK<\/a>: Falkeisen & Huber (Lugt 1008)
OBJECT NUMBER: 1996.036<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Reclining on a cushioned throne, the Roman goddess of love graciously accepts the gifts offered to her in Jan Harmensz Muller\u2019s 16th-century engraving. Cupid, identifiable by his quiver of arrows, watches cheekily from under Venus\u2019s arm as three nymphs and a lone faun kneel before her, presenting baskets of fruit, flowers, and fowl. A cherub sprinkles petals from above, while two others hover behind the stately Roman column that dominates the space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Muller builds his architectural structures with straight, parallel lines that contrast with the sweeping curves that create Venus\u2019s elongated figure. In addition to Venus\u2019s idealized form, the weightlessness of the foremost nymph, whose entire body balances upon her muscled toes, is typical of the Mannerist style of art. Mannerism was popular in the court of Emperor Rudolf II, where Flemish artist Bartholomaeus Spranger was based. Beginning around the time of this print, Muller frequently reproduced<\/a> Spranger\u2019s paintings in etched form to increase their visibility and spread across Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Middlebury impression<\/a> represents the second and final state of the print produced during Muller\u2019s lifetime. The second state is largely unchanged from the first, except for the inclusion of the poem below the image and the addition of floral details in the carpet. After Muller\u2019s death, a handful of second-hand owners in the late 17th century acquired the plates and released later impressions with minor changes, accounting for three more states. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The small margins and unsteadily cut edges of the paper suggest this print was at one point trimmed by hand to fit in a collector\u2019s album. The sheet is slightly raised in the lower-right corner suggesting it was consistently handled. The same corner features a collector\u2019s mark on the reverse, identifying the print as formerly part of the collection of Swiss print dealers Theodor Falkeisen (1768\u20131814) and Johann Friedrich Huber (1766\u20131832). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by Ian Knapp, edited by Simone Edgar Holmes<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Bibliography<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farouki, Carolyn P. Appraisals of Works on Paper Donated to Middlebury College Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. Hugh M. Taft.<\/em> Plainfield, New Hampshire: L.T. Hall Appraisals of Antiques and Decorative Arts, 1997.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kok, Jan Piet Filedt. \u201cJan Harmensz. Muller as Printmaker-I.\u201d Print Quarterly<\/em>, vol 11., no. 3 (September 1994): 223-264.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kok, Jan Piet Filedt, Erik Hinterding, and Jan van der Waals. \u201cJan Harmensz. Muller as Printmaker-II.\u201d Print Quarterly,<\/em> vol 11., no. 4 (December 1994): 351-378.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kok, Jan Piet Filedt. \u201cJan Harmensz. Muller as Printmaker-III, Catalogue.\u201d Print Quarterly<\/em>, vol 12, no. 1 (1995): 3-29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lugt, Frits. \u201cFalkeisen & Huber: L.1008.\u201d Frits Lugt, Les Marques de Collections de Dessins & d\u2019Estampes. Accessed June 24, 2020. http:\/\/www.marquesdecollections.fr\/detail.cfm\/marque\/6989\/total\/1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Venus Honored with Gifts (Venus Receiving Flowers, Fruits, and Birds from Nymphs) ARTIST: Jan Harmensz Muller (Dutch, 1571 \u2013 1628), after Bartholomaeus Spranger (Flemish, 1546 \u2013 1611)DATE: c. 1591TECHNIQUE: EngravingDIMENSIONS: Image: 26.1 x 20 cm, Platemark: 28.5 x 20.3 cmSTATE: II\/VWATERMARK: Unidentifiable in bottom center of print; crest with strapwork bordersINSCRIPTION: Lettered in plate, in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-396","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/museum.middcreate.net\/projects\/early-modern-dutch-prints\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/museum.middcreate.net\/projects\/early-modern-dutch-prints\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/museum.middcreate.net\/projects\/early-modern-dutch-prints\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museum.middcreate.net\/projects\/early-modern-dutch-prints\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museum.middcreate.net\/projects\/early-modern-dutch-prints\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/museum.middcreate.net\/projects\/early-modern-dutch-prints\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":509,"href":"https:\/\/museum.middcreate.net\/projects\/early-modern-dutch-prints\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/396\/revisions\/509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/museum.middcreate.net\/projects\/early-modern-dutch-prints\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}