Giovanni Battista Lenardi (1656-1704) after, engraved by Anne Claude Philippe de Tubières, Comte de - Pentecost

The Pentecost, with the Virgin standing at centre, surrounded by the Apostles, and the Holy Spirit flying above them; after a drawing by Lenardi. c.1729/64
Etching and aquatint imitating a chiaroscuro woodcut, printed in two shades of grey.

Series: Series: Recueil d'estampes d'après les plus beaux tableaux et d'après les plus beaux desseins qui sont en France

Pierre Crozat (1665-1740) was an art collector, who formed a famous collection of drawings, auctioned after his death in 1741 with a catalogue by P.J.Mariette. He also collected many other types of object, paintings, sculpture, intaglios and so forth.
Commissioned various artists to reproduce famous paintings and drawings of the era; 140 plates reproducing works from the Roman school were published under the title of 'Recueil d'estampes d'après les plus beaux tableaux et d'après les plus beaux desseins qui sont en France' (also known as 'Recueil Crozat'), published in 1729. A second volume formed by 42 prints (instead of the 110 plates initially planned) reproducing Venitian works was issued in 1737. After Crozat's death, the plates were sold to a company of booksellers who commissioned Mariette to reorganize the 'Recueil'; Mariette divided the plates into two volumes, added some missing descriptions, and advertised the set to the public in 1742. In 1764, Basan bought the plates and the text, and republished the 'Recueil', replacing the woodcuts by intaglio prints. Basan also published the 45 plates reproducing the Italian paintings from the collection of the Duc d'Orléans in a volume entitled 'Recueil d'après la gallerie du palais royal'

Callus was an archaeologist, collector, amateur etcher (often signs 'C*') and writer about art; member of the Academy of Painting (1731), and of the Academy of Inscriptions & Belles-Lettres (1742). One of the first individuals to illustrate the shape rather than simply the design of ancient Near Eastern cylinder seals.

Bibliographic references
IFF / Inventaire du Fonds Français: Bibliothèque Nationale, Département des Estampes (308)

(British Museum)

Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles of Jesus while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1–31) The Catholic Church believes the Holy Spirit descended upon Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the same time, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:14).

On laid paper. Pencil inscription verso. Good condition. Slight damage on top right corner. Penultimate photo shows impression of the woodcut block on the paper.