[ORIGINAL ENGRAVED COPPER PRINTING PLATE] THE FALL OF MAN

Engraved copper printing plate depicting Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden surrounded by all manner of creatures, with Adam sitting at the foot of the tree of knowledge, about to take a bite from an apple, whilst Eve takes another from the hand of a serpentine creature coiling around the branches above. 22.7 x 19.1cm. The plate incorporating text to the foot from Genesis 3. Signed at the foot "M. de Vos invenit / Corn. Galle Sculp. / Io. Galle excudit". The plate with some old, fine scratches is otherwise in very good order. WITH: A later (mid nineteeth-century) and somewhat weak impression of the plate on paper. This laid down to board with manuscript French labels dated 1851 to the reverse apparently gifting the item from Mademoiselle C. Thyes of Brussels to "Monsieur Delpy"; the print with two pin holes to the blank lower margin and a few spots of faint foxing. A beautifully-executed original engraved copper printing plate by the Flemish engraver Cornelis Galle the Elder (1576-1650), forming a typically busy depiction of the Garden of Eden, with Adam and Eve sealing their fate amidst a varied menagerie of peaceable beasts, including an elephant, camel, bear, porcupine, ostrich, and rearing unicorn, amongst others. Cornelis Galle was first taught engraving by his father, the engraver and publisher Philip Galle (1537-1612). He subsequently resided in Rome for several years, where he acquired an accuracy of design and freedom of style which marked him out as a master of his art form. Following his return to Antwerp, he continued to engrave numerous plates after the works of his countrymen, as well as his own designs, becoming a master of the Antwerp Guild of St Luke in 1610. The present engraving was made after an original painting by the prominent Flemish artist Maerten de Vos (1532-1603). A prolific draughtsman, de Vos produced numerous designs for the engravers of Antwerp, the resulting prints of which circulated widely in Europe and the Spanish colonies, significantly contributing to his international reputation and influence. [Hollstein XLIV.61.243].…