5153 - Mignon, Jean

Mignon, Jean The Last Judgment. Copperplate engraving after Luca Penni. 33.5 x 44.9 cm. Circa 1550. Zerner JM 52a (of b), Jenkins JM 52 I (of II). The original composition is traditionally attributed to Luca Penni. Zerner dates all of Mignon’s works to 1543/47, but Suzanne Boorsch (The French Renaissance in Prints, Los Angeles 1994, pp. 89–91) distinguishes between two groups of plates based on Penni’s work, one of which is dated to 1544, while the other may have been created at a later date, possibly in the first half of the 1550s. The Last Judgment is also included in the latter group. This etching is part of a series of prints featuring biblical motifs in ornamental frames, which, in their conception and comparatively large dimensions, are reminiscent of designs for tapestries. The figure of Christ is based on Dürer’s woodcut of the same subject from the Small Passion Series (c. 1509). To the right of the inscription on the Pope’s tiara. Excellent, even impression cut directly onto the image, and, like many of the ten copies held in public collections, without the decorative frame. A faint vertical center fold, with slight rubbing at that point; another vertical fold mark on the right; stained and showing signs of age; somewhat soiled, especially on the reverse, with faint scratch marks (?); other minor imperfections; otherwise still in good condition. Rare. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog.