John II and François de Gourmont Christophe de... Lot 42

John II and François de Gourmont Christophe de Savigny presenting his book to Louis de Gonzague, Duke of Nivernais, frontispiece to Accomplished paintings of all the liberal arts by C. de Savigny, 1587, woodcut, 41 x 31 cm, small margins (French Renaissance in Prints 149), beautiful and rare proof with the dedication text on the reverse, left-hand printing fold, watermark: Fleur de lys. Published in 1587, the work of C. de Savigny, Tableaux accomplis..., is of great rarity today and only a dozen copies are listed. The famous and monumental dedication plate, one of the masterpieces of French xylography, reproduced in most works on the art of the book, shows the Duke of Nivernois, seated with his coat of arms on a tapestry to his left, receiving a copy of the book from the author. E. Bouvy published a very thorough study of this image in a booklet entitled "Les Tableaux accomplis" by Christophe de Savigny, historical and iconographic study, Nevers-Paris, 1939. Compared to the copy kept at the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal (Rés. Fol.-S-2, available at gallica.bnf.fr), our print shows a mistake in the letter at top right (NCE instead of NEC), some breaks in the wood and a dedication text typed differently.