Ipsa graves tollunt Pauli sudaria morbos Febrilesque leuant Pauli semicincta calores. Exorcistarum conflantur in igne libelli Et Sathan in magicos saeuit crudeliter omnes. (Acto. 19.14.) Gravure originale du XVIIe siècle

Original engraving executed in burin by Claes Jansz Visscher, called le Piscator after a 16th-century painting by Johannes Stradanus.
Impression on watermarked laid paper, work from the early 17th century.
This is an illustration of a passage from Acts of the Apostles, 19.13-16: "Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded." Latin caption in the lower portion of the engraving. Artists' signatures in the plate. Numbered notation "29" in the lower right corner, within the engraving. Manuscript notation "162" in margin in the upper right corner of the plate. An old manuscript annotation in Greek characters below the platemark. Crown watermark visible by transparency. Minimal foxing and light marginal dampstaining, not affecting the engraving, otherwise very 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 the latter's 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 through Europe: in France, then in Italy, where he stayed first in Venice, before settling in Florence. There he worked for Cosimo I de' Medici and collaborated with Giorgio Vasari for 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 Giorgio Vasari's direction, with creating the gigantic décor planned for the entry into Florence of Joanna of Austria, on the occasion of her marriage to Francesco I de' Medici. Greatly influenced by the Mannerists, including Michelangelo, Johannes Stradanus contributed to the development of grand Italian history painting. He painted several altarpieces for Florentine churches. He also stayed in Rome from 1550 to 1553 and in Naples in 1576. After a stay in Antwerp in 1578, he devoted a large part of his activity to engraving.