Details
ANONYMOUS ITALIAN, 18TH CENTURY
Memento mori ('INGREDIMVR CVNCTI, DIVES CVM PAVPERE MIXTVS')
etching with engraving, circa 1750, on laid paper, without watermark, a fine impression of this very rare print, with wide margins, some surface dirt and staining in the margins, otherwise in very good condition
Plate 315 x 226 mm., Sheet 457 x 358 mm.

References:
Bartsch, Hollstein 64
Meder 167
Schoch, Mende, Scherbaum 115

Please note this lot is the property of a private collector.
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Lot Essay



The inscription on the pedestal could be roughly translated as: 'We all have to die, the rich mingled with the poor'. This anonymous and very rare print has an oddly humorous side. As they reveal a stone tondo carved with dead bodies, the winged skeleton in the front kneels down in admiration in front of this monument of Death, while the other two skeletons are leaning onto it, seemingly in pleasant conversation. Their attitude is that of two gentlemen cracking a joke at the bar or casually chatting at a gallery opening.

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