Paulus Pontius (1603-1658) - Lot 37

Paulus Pontius (1603-1658) Socrates. 1638. Engraved after P. P. Rubens. 215 x 320. Schneevogt 25-2; Hollstein 155. Fine proof on laid paper, trimmed at the plate cut, lightly dusted. Traces of oxidized glue on verso. Oblique broken fold in upper right corner. Remnants of tabs at the edges of the verso leaf. Slight halo of moisture along lower edge, most noticeable on verso. "Between 1638 and 1639, a series of twelve engravings of antique busts was published, based on drawings by Rubens. Fascinated by antiquity, Rubens had acquired a small collection of busts from the English ambassador, Sir Dudley Carleton. The artist drew inspiration from this collection, as well as from that of his friend Nicolaas Rockox, which included a bust of Demosthenes. One of his aims was to give these marble heads the appearance of life, to transform the sculptures into flesh-and-blood beings. With their intense gazes, finely detailed curls of hair and rendering of epidermis, these engraved heads are more like portraits of characters than 'reproductions' of sculptures." (Cartel of the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva).