Featured Original 1695 - Etienne Baudet

The most recent artwork I snatched up on the second hand market.

To me this seem to be equal to the first 1695 engraving and if so its a lovely find if I may say so myself.

Etienne Baudet, The Four Elements:

British museums engraving here:

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1917-1208-711

Anyone want to pitch in with their thoughts?

 

Went looking for an image of the original Albani painting & couldn't find it. Weirdly, I did find 2 other paintings that are being described with an alternate title of 'l'Air' that are clearly not allegorical representation of Air, the way this one is. One, 'The Toilet of Venus', might conceivably be Earth from the elements series, but another turns up described as Mercury and Apollo when it is clearly no such thing. It appears to be Mercury bearing a message from Olympus to a herdsman, possibly Paris, while all the other gods look on.

This is not your engraving, but does tell a little about the paintings:

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_2010-7081-154

 

https://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/a/albani/1/5elem4.html

 

Thank you for that. Albani, Reni & Domenichino all did work that became the source for cameo images.

 

A very high quality copper engraving! Nice!

 

@Ex Libris I am trying to determine if this is a first state (1695) which would then be on laid paper or if its a later state on wove.

What do you think based on these photographs?

 

With enhanced contrast/sharpness.

 

For me it is very difficult to determine the kind of paper, by just a few photographs. Also here it is very helpful to shine a bright light behind the paper.
I use for this a LED-tablet or lightbox. I have a small (A5) and a larger one (A3).