16th-Century Musical Instruments by E.J. Imbard

16th-Century Musical Instruments by E.J. Imbard

C.1866

Hand-Colored Engraving

Drafted by artist E. J. Imbard (E. J. Imbard del.) and engraved by Pons (Pons Sculp.), this exquisite uncolored print executed in 1866 illustrates five distinct musical instruments from the turn of the Renaissance. The composition documents early 16th-century instruments drawn from an illuminated manuscript titled Proverbes et Adages in the La Vallière collection of the Bibliothèque Impériale (MS No. 4316). Positioned prominently at the center is a detailed portative organ (Orgue portatif) with its keybed, pipe ranks, and rear bellows. Surrounding it are individual studies of a double flute (Double Flûte), a spiraled hunting horn or oliphant (Cor ou Oliphan), an early bowed stringed instrument (Sorte de Viole), and a plucked lute variant (Luth, sorte de Cistre). Like the preceding plates, this illustration was produced for Nicolas-Xavier Willemin’s landmark publication Monuments français inédits pour servir à l'histoire des arts depuis le VIe siècle jusqu'au commencement du XVIIe.

Created during the rise of 19th-century Romanticism and the French Gothic Revival, this work forms part of a pioneering effort to systematically record and preserve France's medieval material heritage. Auguste-Xavier Leprince and artists like A. Giroux worked alongside Nicolas-Xavier Willemin to document early French art history and archaeology, with a focus on capturing medieval sculpture, architectural reliefs, and manuscript illuminations. This specific plate holds immense historical importance in organology (the study of musical instruments) and art history; by combining architectural relief details from Chartres Cathedral with manuscript studies from the Bibliothèque Impériale and Belgian archives, Willemin provided invaluable comparative documentation of 12th-century Romanesque instrument design long before the advent of photographic reproduction.

Dimensions: H 17 ¼” x 11” W

Condition: Toned slightly with age