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Cupids at play
with dolphins

Tritons and Nereides

Statue of Acis

Jean Lepautre et al. (1618-1682) (artist and engraver)
Prints of the Grotto of Versailles
Paris: 1673-79
Copperplate engravings
23 x 18 inches, average overall
16 x 11.25 inches, average plate mark
$550 each

Three prints depicting details of the some of the numerous fountains and other sculptures executed for Louis XIV's gardens at Versailles.  They show some of the highest achievements of this form of the Baroque era.  The fountains feature figures of classical mythology, predominantly cherubs, and are often decorated in the “grotto” taste with sea life and encrusted shells.

Jean Lepautre (or Le Paultre) was a prolific French designer and engraver based in his native Pairs, and elected a member of the Academy in 1667.  While he produced plates of portraits and religious subjects, he excelled at architectural subjects, producing some 1,500 etchings and engravings of architectural decorations, friezes, ceilings, vases and all types of ornaments.  Most of them were executed after his own drawings which exhibited a personal flair and imagination.  His depictions of the gardens and ornaments of Versailles helped popularize the Louis XIV style in Europe.

The printed titles describe the grotto details and indicate the sculptor.  These are shown below, together with our translations and additional biographical information about the sculptors:

Petits Amours qui se joüent avec des Dauphins.  Bas reliefs au dessus des portes de la Grotte de Versailles.  Par Girard Vanopstal de Bruxelles.
Small cupids at play with dolphins, from bas reliefs over the doors of the Grotto of Versailles by Flemish-born sculptor Gerard van Opstal (c. 1597-1668). 
Van Opstal came to Pairs in 1621 at the invitation of Cardinal de Richelieu and became one of the founders of the French Academy in 1648.  He created works for the Hôtel Carnavalet, at the Louvre and at the Tuileries as well as Versailles.  His sculptures today are in numerous major museum collections including the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and the Louvre.

Trouppe de Tritons et de Nereides, qui se rejoüissent au coucher du Soleil.  Bas reliefs au dessus des portes de la Grotte de Versailles.  Par Girard Vanopstal de Bruxelles.
The Tritons and Nereids rejoice in the setting of the sun, from bas reliefs above the doors of the Grotto of Versailles by Flemish-born sculptor Gerard van Opstal.
See Gerard van Opstal biographical note above.

Statue d’Acis, de marbre blanc, haute de 5 pieds et demy.  Dans la grotte de Versailles.  Par Baptiste Tubi Romain.  H. Watele delin.  Ioan Edelink Sculp.
Statue of Acis, a character from Greek mythology, which the caption says is of white marble and 5 1/2 feet high, from the grotto of Versailles by Baptiste Tubi Romain.
Though Lepature designed and engraved most of his prints, for this particular engraving the drawing is credited to French painter Henri Watele (1640-1677) and the engraving to the Flemish-born engraver and art merchant Jan Edelinck (1643-1680).  Edelinck came to Paris around 1665 and became engraver to the king of France.

Condition:  Generally very good with usual light overall toning, light scattered soiling, and wear to edges.  Few stray printers marks and minor abrasions. Some scattered creases in margins. 

References:

Bénézit, E. Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs.  France: Librairie Gründ, 1966. (Edelink, Vol. 3, p. 533; Lepautre, Vol. 5, p. 523; van Opstal, Vol. 6, p. 435.)