Tomb of Louis de Brézé, Rouen, Antique Steel Engraving after Hodson, circa 1877

A grand Renaissance wall monument rises in tiers against the Gothic piers of a great church in this upright steel engraving. At the top an armored horseman rides beneath a niche between paired caryatid figures, statues stand at the summit, and below, between dark columns, a recumbent figure lies on a sarcophagus. Beside it, at the left, is an older Gothic canopied tomb with soaring pinnacles. In the foreground a woman in a wide white headdress kneels in prayer with a small child, and a few rush-seated chairs stand on the stone floor.

The plate is lettered "Tomb of Louis de Brézé, Rouen Cathedral." Louis de Brézé, Grand Seneschal of Normandy, died in 1531, and his tomb in the Lady Chapel of Rouen Cathedral was commissioned by his widow, Diane de Poitiers. It is one of the finest Renaissance monuments in France, showing the deceased both as a corpse and as a mounted knight. The drawing is credited to S.J. Hodson and the engraving to R. Hinshelwood, with the imprint of Cassell, Petter & Galpin of London.

The print is a steel engraving in black ink on wove paper, uncolored. Hinshelwood records the sculpture and the leaded windows behind it in great detail, while the soft light on the floor and the kneeling figures give the scene warmth.

For lovers of French architecture and history, it would look distinguished in a library or stairwell in a dark wood frame with a wide mat.

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