Conus Marmoreus (print)

The print is known in three states. The first state was drawn with drypoint only, and shows the shell and its shadow against a plain background. The second state is reworked with etching, and adds a shadowed background space reminiscent of a shelf or box. The spiral end of the shell is reworked with drypoint and burin in the third state to make it clearer. Examples of all three states are held in public collections, but all are rare: only five impressions of the first state are known, there are eleven impressions of the second state in public collections (but others in private collections), and the third state is known from one impression held by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. An impression fetched $118,000 at auction in 1997.^[1]

The first state resembles a series of similar shell etchings by Wenceslaus Hollar, c.1645, which depict a variety of shells against a plain background without shadows. Hollar's etchings are thought to have inspired Rembrandt, and Rembrandt's print in turn inspired later artists to make faithful copies.

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  Conus marmoreus shell
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  Etching of

  Wenceslas Hollar

  , c.1645