Isaiah's Vision and Jeremiah Drawn from the Pit, Pieter Mortier, circa 1700

This original copperplate engraving from Pieter Mortier's illustrated Bible, Amsterdam circa 1700, shows two biblical scenes on one sheet: Isaiah 6, Isaiah's vision of the Lord in glory, and Jeremiah 38, Jeremiah drawn out of the pit by Ebedmelech. The upper scene illustrates Isaiah chapter 6, the prophet's vision of the Lord seated in glory in the Temple, when a seraph flew to him with a live coal from the altar and touched his lips. The winged seraph swoops towards the kneeling Isaiah across a Temple interior with the seven branched candlestick, while the vision blazes in clouds of light behind.

The lower scene shows Jeremiah chapter 38, where the prophet, thrown into a muddy cistern, is drawn out with ropes by Ebedmelech the Ethiopian and his helpers. Jeremiah emerges from the pit supported by several men beneath a classical colonnade while a soldier with a spear looks on. Each scene carries its own engraved caption with the scripture reference in Dutch and French, and the sheet is numbered 119 in the lower margin.

Pieter Mortier's Bible, published in Amsterdam circa 1700 as the Historie des Ouden en Nieuwen Testaments, is one of the most ambitious illustrated Bibles of the Dutch Baroque. Its many scenes were engraved on copper after designs by leading artists of the day, among them Gerard Hoet, Arnold Houbraken and Bernard Picart, and set two to a sheet within engraved frames that give each plate its distinctive architectural look. This sheet is signed in the lower margin by Bernard Picart as designer, and no engraver's signature is visible. The sheet is printed on laid paper with full margins, and the reverse is blank.

A sheet like this suits a study, a library or a reading room, and it pairs naturally with other plates from the Mortier Bible for anyone building a sequence on the Old Testament prophets. The paired scenes and engraved frames look particularly handsome in a simple dark wood frame with a generous mount.

The sheet is in good condition for its age, with light toning and small chips at the lower left corner and right edge, all confined to the margins; the image itself is clean and strong.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.