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Description: | bound volume (65.5 x 50.5 x 5.5 cm) inscr. on plate b.l. "V Meulen ex. cum privil Regis."; fleur de lys watermark AFTER GENOELS, Abraham; (Flemish; 1640-1733) PUB MEULEN, Adam Frans van der; (Dutch; 1632-1690) Part of William Hunter's original bequest, this volume contains 112 engravings after paintings made or published by van der Meulen. A Flemish Baroque artist who specialised in horses and landscapes, he was invited to work for Louis XIV as a painter of views of royal castles, hunting scenes, processions, travels and military campaigns. Travelling with the troops and sketching on the battlefield, van der Meulen's fresh style was influential in the development of the relatively new genre of battlescapes. Following the success of his paintings recording the campaigns in Flanders he had many of his works engraved. Most were included in the remarkable collection of engravings known as the Cabinet du Roi originated with Louis XIV's minister J.B. Colbert. By 1670 these engravings were published in volumes and presented as gifts to visiting dignitaries or offered for sale. Hunter's volume, still in its late 17th century binding, is a now rare surviving example. This print is one of a series of six landscapes in circular frames by Abraham Genoels, a fellow Flemish painter who specialised in perspective and classically structured landscapes. Van der Meulen commissioned and published a number of prints from him. Unlike the others, it depicts an identified story; that of Cephalus and Procris from Greek mythology. Having been made suspicious of his new wife by the jealous goddess Aurora, Cephalus attempts to disguise himself and seduce Procris to test her. When she almost succumbs she runs away in shame and joins the virgin goddess Diana and her nymphs. She eventually returns to Cephalus bearing two gifts from Diana; a dog and a spear. | License: | http://www.hmag.gla.ac.uk/spirit/rights/ | Publisher: | Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow | Rights holder: | Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow | Subjects: | FIGURES : RIVER : CLASSSICAL LANDSCAPE : VOLUME : TREES : HUNTER : DOG : HUNTER VOLUME : REPRODUCTIVE PRINT : | Source: | Hunterian Museum | Creator: | Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow | Identifier: | http://www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk/cgi-bin/... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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