Duck, Jacob A. (about 1600 Utrecht 1667) or Jan le Ducq (1629/30 The Hague 1676). The Rider at the Pillar. To the left, supervised there by instructor with whip in the raised right. At the left margin of the picture small property, at the right overgrown large ruins, in front of it two men with dog observing the exercise. Etching. Sheet size 18.6 x 23.3 cm.
Hollstein, Duck, 8. – See Nagler, Monogramists, III, Ducq + Wurzbach, Duck. – Sheet 3 of a 4-sheet set – the 4th, The Waiting Rider at the River – , whose first two ones are by Roman de Hooghe (1645-1708) who also was connected with the whole set. The mentioned 4th sheet in Nagler at 2184, no. 8, in Wurzbach per 8 and in cat. Davidsohn I (1920), Ducq (“Debatable sheet … Very rare”) per 1378 with remarkable estimate, see below.
With the no. 3 below outside right in the white margin. – With almost complete large watermark “Reared Lion in double lined Circle below Fleur-de-lis” with sword in the right and arrows in the left as variant to Heawood 3140-3145 (1651 till c. 1689) inclusive of the paddings in the circle, but without its escutcheon. – Lower right small oval collector’s stamp A (? Aretin? see below).
The marvelous impression from the J. H. Anderhub Collection. Did not figure, as further prints, too, in the 1963 book sale of the “Bibliotheca Hippologica I. H. Anderhub”. This by the way already as collecting follow-up generation. So on the original wrappers of the 1st issue of his Bürde (Illustrations of excellent Horses …, 1820 ff.) beside of his exlibris of 1937 the double stamp of J. B. Anderhub.
Trimmed to platemark with 2-4 mm surrounding margin and above lots of white plate field. Fine vertical box pleat running through only noticeable above and below of rider + horse resp.
The creators are two masters since old confused with and supposedly not related to each other, with Duck’s works mostly running under the name of le Ducq. Only Bode & Bredius succeeded with inscribed paintings in a solid separation in favor of the former. Bernt (1969/79) lists only this and mentions especially his preferred genre of soldiers in both painting and drawing, almost exclusively set in interiors. Nevertheless he mentions him expressly as etcher, too. But also le Ducq, foremost related to the animal and landscape subject, betook himself to military themes since he had entered the service of the States-General, where he advanced to captain. His artistic work, primarily circulating as Dujardin and gradually petering out, was limited. The engraver is documented by a certificate of the guild at The Hague of June 17, 1662, granting him the sale of his copper plates and etchings.
Nagler repeatedly qualifies the latter in the Monogramists dictionary as preciousnesses and here it is especially the “famous set of the hounds” from 1661 which figures in Weigel’s Art Stock Catalog, division VIII, 1840, per 9135 as “Of greatest rarity” at the high price of 80 Thaler. In the Davidsohn Catalog (I, 1376) in 1920 the 8 sheet in but the second state were estimated at 600 Reichsmark, yet the “Rider at the Riverside” mentioned above as single sheet at half of this, that is 300 Reichsmark!
This to elucidate the preciousness of these sheets 3 + 4 of the set. In harmony, too, with Nagler’s report of 1863 in regard of the riverside rider :
“ This wittily etched sheet Brulliot describes in the Aretin Catalogue no. 4401 with the remark that it were etched in le Ducq’s manner. He missed the (signature) letters,
yet at the sale an art collector paid
100 fl. for this sheet .”
The presence of a signature on that sheet Wurzbach thought to be as unsecured as it can barely attributed to the copy here. Also the present Rider at the Pillar bears no inscription.
Offer no. 28,614 / EUR 448. / export price EUR 426. (c. US$ 580.) + shipping
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