Melior est Fructus meus auro et Lapide pretiso. Pro. C. 8. (My fruit is better than gold and precious stones)

1660s

Not on view

Resting within an idyllic landscape, the Christ child balances atop Saint Joseph’s lap while offering an apple to the Virgin Mary, seated regally at far left. Claudine Bouzonnet Stella probably engraved this wholesome representation of the Holy Family before she began creating the prints after Nicolas Poussin for which she is best known. A previous state of the print contains the phrase "J. Stella in." inscribed below Mary’s right arm, confirming that Bouzonnet Stella had based it on her uncle Jacques Stella’s invention. A later owner of the copperplate, however, effaced Stella's name and added a more recognizable one below—"Poussin pinxit" (Poussin painted this)—likely to enhance the print’s market value.

Yasemin Altun, June 2024

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Melior est Fructus meus auro et Lapide pretiso. Pro. C. 8. (My fruit is better than gold and precious stones)
Artist: Claudine Bouzonnet Stella (French, Lyons 1636–1697 Paris)
Artist: After Jacques Stella (French, Lyons 1596–1657 Paris)
Date: 1660s
Medium: Engraving and etching
Dimensions: Sheet: 15 1/8 × 18 3/4 in. (38.4 × 47.6 cm)
Plate: 13 9/16 × 17 3/16 in. (34.4 × 43.7 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Gift of Georgiana W. Sargent, in memory of John Osborne Sargent, 1924
Object Number: 24.63.1333
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

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Melior est Fructus meus auro et Lapide pretiso. Pro. C. 8. (My fruit is better than gold and precious stones)

Claudine Bouzonnet Stella

1660s

Christ Before Pilate

Claudine Bouzonnet Stella

Nicolas Poussin

17th century

Ego Mater pulchrae dilectionis Eccl. 24., Claudine Bouzonnet Stella French, Etching and engraving — Ego Mater pulchrae dilectionis Eccl. 24.
Claudine Bouzonnet Stella
Nicolas Poussin
1668

Holy Family on the Steps, Claudine Bouzonnet Stella French, Engraving and etching — Holy Family on the Steps
Claudine Bouzonnet Stella
Nicolas Poussin
1668

Le jeu de quilles et de l’escarpolette (A Game of Boule), Claudine Bouzonnet Stella French, Etching and engraving — Le jeu de quilles et de l’escarpolette (A Game of Boule)
Claudine Bouzonnet Stella
Jacques Stella
1667

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