signed and inscribed ‘A. Delfos del./ P. de Mare. fecit.’ (in the plate)
etching and engraving
25.5 x 22.9 cm
Wurzbach 2 [1], Frederik Muller 347D [2], fifth and final state (according to the states in the Rijksmuseum)
A good impression, trimmed within the plate mark, but outside the subject, there are some creases in the edges, but the sheet is in otherwise good condition

Pieter de Mare was born in Leiden, was trained by his fellow townsman Abraham Delfos in that city and remained there until his death in 1796. [3] According to Van Eijnden and Van der Willigen, De Mare produced etchings after Christina Chalon in 1779 when he was 22 years old. [4] He furthermore made prints after 17th-century artists such as Cornelis Visscher (1629-1658 and Frans van Mieris (1635-1681), but, as is the case in the present print, he also drew inspiration from the most celebrated artist Leiden had produced: Lucas van Leyden (1494–1533).The unusual print shows a man with his hands clasped in prayer which De Mare copied from a figure in the centre of the central panel of Lucas van Leyden’s masterpiece: The Last Judgement, now in the Lakenhal, Leiden. [5] The small figure at top left shows the man in prayer in scale to the painting, while the larger figure shows the same man in enlarged format.

[1] A. von Wurzbach, 'Niederländisches Künstler-Lexikon auf Grund archivalischer Forschungen
bearbeitet mit mehr als 3000 Monogrammen', Leipzig and Vienna, 1904-1911, vol. 2, pp. 100-101.
[2] F. Muller, 'De Nederlandsche geschiedenis in platen: beredeneerde beschrijving van Nederlandsche historieplaten, zinneprenten en historische kaarten', Amsterdam, 1863-1882, vol. 4, p. 27.
[3] R. van Eijnden and A. van der Willigen, 'Geschiedenis der Vaderlandsche Schilderkunst, sedert
de helft der XVIII eeuw', Haarlem, 1830 [reprint, Amsterdam, 1979], vol. 2, pp. 423-424.
[4] R. van Eijnden and A. van der Willigen, 'op. cit'., p. 423.
[5] Inv. S 244.