In Macedum terris, ad maenia nota Philippi, Cum docet aeterni Paulus miisteria Christi. Sub stimulo Pythonis, ait, bachata puella, Doctorem verique Dei Paulum esse ministrum. (Acto. 16.14.) Gravure originale du XVIIe siècle

Original engraving executed with burin by Claes Jansz Visscher, called the Piscator, after a 16th century painting by Johannes Stradanus.
Proof on watermarked laid paper, early 17th century work.This illustrates a passage from Acts of the Apostles, 16.12-14: "From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message.".Latin caption in the lower portion of the engraving.Artists' signatures in the plate.Numbered reference "27" in the lower right corner, within the engraving.Manuscript notation "160" in margin in the upper right corner of the plate.An old manuscript annotation in Greek characters below the plate mark.Crown watermark visible by transparency.Very rare and discrete marginal foxing, a skillful restoration using a small piece of transparent filmoplast on the verso, otherwise fine condition for this extremely rare engraving of great freshness.Johannes Stradanus, called Giovanni Stradano or Jan van der Straet, was a Flemish painter and engraver, born in Bruges in 1523 and died in Florence on February 11, 1605. After beginning to learn painting from his father, and following his death, he continued his training in the workshop of Maximiliaan Frank (from 1535 to 1537), then in that of Pieter Aertsen in Antwerp (from 1537 to 1540). In 1545, he was received as a master in the Antwerp painters' guild. He began a journey across Europe: to France, then to Italy, where he first stayed in Venice, before settling in Florence. There he worked for Cosimo I de' Medici and collaborated with Giorgio Vasari on the decoration of the Studiolo of Francesco I de' Medici, and that of the Clement VII room in the Palazzo Vecchio. In 1565, he was part of the teams of painters and sculptors charged, under the direction of Giorgio Vasari, with creating the gigantic decoration planned for the entry into Florence of Joanna of Austria