Details
GIORGIO GHISI (1520-1582) AFTER GIOVANNI BATTISTA BERTANI (CIRCA 1516-1576)
The Vision of Ezekiel
engraving, 1554, printed on two joined sheets of laid paper (as issued), a very good impression of this large, rare print, third state (of six; Lewis & Lewis record only two impressions of the first state, and one of the second state), published by Antoine Lafrery, Rome, circa 1554, trimmed inside the platemark but outside the borderline, just inside the borderline in places, the sheets laid down onto cardboard, the paper toned, some minor stains and a couple of tiny paper losses towards the sheet edges, the subject generally in good condition
Sheet 420 x 688 mm., Support card 425 x 694 mm.

References:
Bartsch XV. 413. 69
Lewis & Lewis 15

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



This very macabre image is in fact an image of resurrection. The text on the banderole quotes a verse from the Book of Ezekiel (37.6):'And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you'. In the scripture, this is preceded by the words 'Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones...'.

Giorgio Ghisi and the painter and architect Bertani, who in 1549 succeeded Giulio Romano as the overseer of buildings and decorations for the Ducal Court in Mantua, were friends, and Ghisi created three engravings of compositions by Bertani's. No other prints after Bertani's design are known.

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