L'ENLEVEMENT DES SABINES 
Nicolas Poussin French (Les Andelys, France 1594 - 1665 Rome, Italy)
Audran, Jean (Paris 1667 - 1756)

L'ENLEVEMENT DES SABINES.

A Paris chez I Audran graveur du Roy aux Gobelins. Avec privilege du Roy.

Les Romains dont la pluspart n'avoient point de femmes,
cherchant a peupler leur ville naissante, Romulus celebra
un Sacrifice solemnel avec des jeux publics paur y attirer

les peuples voisins. 1 un signal quil donna en prenant
un pan de sa robe, ses Soldats enleverent les filler

des Sabins que estorent venus sans armes. –Plutarque

(As most of the Romans had no wives and sought to populate their nascent city, Romulus celebrated a solemn sacrifice accompanied by public games to attract neighboring peoples. At a signal he gave by raising a fold of his robe, his soldiers abducted the daughters of the Sabines, who had come unarmed. – Plutarch)

N. Pousin Pinxit.

I Audran Sculp.

A very beautiful rare and untrimmed undated French print, late 17th or early 18th century engraving from the original Nicolas Poussin painting The Abduction of the Sabine Women c.1627 - c.1628 in the classical style of a mythological scene from Roman history. The original painting is in the Metropolitan Museum NYC. 

AUDRAN Jean (1667 - 1756) - "The Abduction of the Sabine Women". Etching and burin after Nicolas Poussin. Proof with the letter, on laid paper, with the address "A Paris, chez I.Audran, graveur du Roy aux Gobelins, Avec privilège du Roy, presentement chez Mondhare rue St Jacques". Ref: I.F.F XVII ème, Tome I, n°84. 

Rare original untrimmed margins. Like most folio prints its neatly folded down the centre for storage. It will look spectacular framed.

Dimensions: Full sheet size is 55 cm tall 70 cm wide or approx 22" x 27,6" plate area is 45.5 x 56.5.

Condition. Original untrimmed edges. Paper is toned overall. Edges are a little crumpled but i'll do my best to relax and press the thick paper. Several closed tears to edges that don't reach the image apart from the top crease. There is a small spot in the sky that can probably be removed by a paper conservator.

Provenance: Purchased by the consigner from an estate sale at a French château 23 years ago.



About:
The Abduction of the Sabine Women
Nicolas Poussin French, probably 1633–34
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 623

This painting embodies Poussin’s innovations derived from studying Roman antiquity. Figural groups, several closely based on ancient sculptures, evoke the choreography of dancers caught mid-action on stage, while the complex interplay of drapery woven between the figures reveals Poussin as a master colorist. Poussin arranged wax figures in a tiny, theater-like box to establish the sophisticated spatial relationships and formal balance of such paintings. The violent subject comes from a founding myth for the city of Rome: Romans invited the neighboring Sabines to a festival with the intention of forcibly capturing their women as wives. When the Roman leader Romulus raised his cloak—seen here at left—his warriors seized them. This painting belonged to the French ambassador to Rome in the 1630s and then to King Louis XIII’s chief minister, Cardinal Richelieu.

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More in store. Please see our other items for a large selection of old, modern, and contemporary drawings.

EU, UK, US Customers: Please note that all taxes, customs fees, import duties, tariffs, and other charges are the responsibility of the purchaser. We provide all relevant documentation for after-purchase charges that may be applied on arrival in your country. Sometimes, there are issues that arise, but please rest assured, we will assist in any way that we can.