After Sir Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641) - Erasmus of Rotterdam

Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536) was an important Catholic scholar and philosopher of the Renaissance. He was painted by Hans Holbein the Younger in 1523 and it is this painting that Sir Anthony Van Dyck has used for his etching. Van Dyck is not generally known for his printed works but he produced 19 etchings with 17 of these being portraits.
 
The original etchings by Van Dyck are highly sought after and in 1851 the Musée du Louvre purchased a complete set of them. They have since released their own prints of Van Dyck's work through their Chalographie department of which this work is one of these. It has a Musée du Louvre blindstamp below the Van Dyck etching and comes with an information sheet regarding their collection of prints by or after the artist.
 
Inscribed l.l. 'Ant van Dyck fecit aqua forti' and in the centre 'Erasmus Rotterdamus'.
 
Medium: Chalographie print after Van Dyck's original etching, 24.5 x 15.5 cm (etching size), mounted.