Richard EARLOM (London 1743 - 1822) "Bacchanalians" Original halftone etching from a Rubens subject printed and published in London by John Boydell in 1785 and then inserted in the collection entitled "A set of Prints engraved after the most capital Paintings in the Collection of her Imperial Majesty the Empress of Russia, lately in the possession of the Earl of Norfolk, at Houghton in Norfolk ... "made by the same publisher and nephew Josiah starting from 1788. Beautiful specimen printed with a refined ink rich in shades of gray, on laid paper with "Colombaia" watermark and "Dupuy Fin Auvergne 1742" literal countermark typical of 18th century French paper production, with large margins beyond the imprint of the plate, slightly burnished and with small foxing points but in the complex in excellent general condition. Rara. Rubens' painting was part of the prestigious collection of Sir Robert Walpole (1676 - 1745), Prime Minister of England and refined art connoisseur; this magnificent corpus of paintings was sold by Walpole's nephew several times between 1778 and 1779 to Empress Catherine II of Russia and is now part of the heritage of the Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg. Bibliography: Lewine page 204; Milesi pag 138; Rubinstein No. 57; Slater pag.337; Wessely No. 84. Measurements in mm: 441 x 477