Prints by Jakob Demus

Click on the thumbnail to see a larger view of the print.

We are pleased to represent the prints of Jakob Demus in America. This exceptional artist, born in Vienna in 1959, has mastered the difficult art of of engraving with a diamond point on copper. His work was the subject of a major retrospective at the Rembrandthuis Museum in 2005 and a catalogue raisonne has been published by the Hercules Segers Foundation. His prints are in many museum collections including: The British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, The Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Albertina in Vienna, the Berliner Kupferstichkabinett, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, among others.

The editions are small, generally in the range of twenty to thirty impressions only. The artist prints his own work on hand-made paper. He works directly on the copper plate with the diamond point, without a preliminary drawing. (Note: The images as you see them on the web site are low resolution images produced out of necessity. The originals are far more detailed and finely rendered. We welcome any inquiries you may have.)

Anemones
Diamond-drypoint, 1987, de Heer 133, edition 25. 7 x 9 3/4 in. Signed in pencil. Inscribed "IIet." A fine impression in fine condition. Full margins. "The power of the etcher lies in his treatment of this scale of black from major to minor. He plays his black like the virtuoso plays his violin." (JD)
$750

Bunch of Grapes
Diamond-drypoint, 1987, de Heer 150, edition 25. 10 x 5 1/4 in. Signed in pencil. Inscribed "IIIet." A fine impression in fine condition. Full margins. "This bunch of grapes contains all that is precious and the happiness of the moment." (JD)
SOLD

Buttercups
Diamond-drypoint, 1988, de Heer 167, edition 30. 7 5/8 x 6 1/2 in. Signed in pencil. Inscribed "IIet." A fine impression in fine condition. Full margins. "I found what I was searching for in the whirlpool of filled petals of these dense buttercup blooms. The centrifugal force is at once tangible and touchable in a cupped hand." (JD)
$800

Falcon's Wing
Diamond-drypoint, 1993, de Heer 236, edition 30. 7 3/4 x 10 3/8 in. Signed in pencil. Inscribed "Iet." A fine impression in fine condition. Full margins. "The wing of the falcon that symbolizes a new beginning: the first print after a dramatic eye illness that prevented me from etching for a whole two years. I first called upon the falcon to be my helper, with his proverbial good eyesight..." (JD)
$650

Fruit of the Hazel-Nut Tree
Diamond-drypoint, 1988, de Heer 180, edition 30. 8 1/2 x 11 3/8 in. Signed in pencil. Inscribed IIet." A fine impression in fine condition. Full margins. "The fruit of the hazel is wrapped in wonderful sepals reminiscent of crowns and antlers - like sculpted flames transformed into vegetables. From the Middle Ages, this form recurs in patterns and decorative designs." (JD)
SOLD

Fulgora Laternaria, Cypraea Valentia
Diamond drypoint, 2005, subsequent to de Heer, edition 25. 9 3/4 x 7 in. Signed in pencil. This is a superb impression in fine condition. The margins are full. This is a trial proof of the first state before the edition of 25. It's a major work by the artist and a tour de force of the medium.
$1,200

Garden Delphinium
Diamond-drypoint, 1987, de Heer 153, edition 20. 8 3/8 x 6 1/2 in. Signed in pencil. Inscribed "Iet." A fine impression in fine condition. Full margins. "Plants draw their strength from silence. They are free of the confusion caused by language." (JD)
$650

Great Bear (Two Stones from a Stream)
Diamond drypoint, 1988, de Heer 187, edition 20. 5 x 10 7/8 in. Signed and dated in the plate; signed and dated in pencil. A fine impression in fine condition. Full margins. "The Great Bear was my first attempt to bring together two stones. When I randomly named the stones, I never thought of the constellation with the same name. But today: Ursus major. The constellation revolves around the Pole-star which shows us the way." (JD)
$950

Hornets
Diamond drypoint, 1989, de Heer 202, edition 30. 5 1/8 x 5 7/8 in. Signed in pencil. it's a fine impression in fine condition with full margins. "I embarked on this engraving on my thirtieth birthday, in a mood that was bad-tempered and humorous, already beyond desperation, with the sting of Aristophanes." (JD)
$750

Lapis Lazuli
Diamond-drypoint, 1989, de Heer 194, edition 30. 4 3/4 x 5 3/8 in. Signed in pencil. Inscribed "IIet." A fine impression in fine condition. Full margins. "This table of stone, a cross-section of a piece of lapis lazuli, placed as a two-dimensional plane in the space, erupts like a stele out of time and demands interpretation and the decoding of its inscription." (JD)
SOLD

Large 'Schlierenstein'
Diamond-drypoint, 1989, de Heer 205, edition 30. 6 1/4 x 9 3/8 in. Signed and dated in the plate. Signed and dated in pencil. Inscribed "IIIet." A fine impression in fine condition. Full margins. "Every stone has its own form, its physiognomy, origin and history. Every stone is unique, an individual." (JD)
$900

Large Iris
Diamond-drypoint, 1989, de Heer 199, edition 25. 11 x 13 in. Signed in pencil. Inscribed "probedruck, IIIet." Signed in pencil. A fine impression before the edition of 25. Full margins. Fine condition. "Three leaves pointing up, three down; a balance, like the reflection in the water, moved by the smallest breeze, a showpiece in velvet."
SOLD

Large Primrose
Diamond-drypoint, 1988, de Heer 164, edition 30. 6 1/2 x 8 1/4 in. Signed in pencil. Inscribed "IIet." A fine impression in fine condition. Full margins. "And like small open umbrellas, its flowers safeguard the mystery of its origin." (JD)
SOLD

Levkoje
Diamond drypoint, 1987, de Heer 140, edition 25. 9 3/4 x 4 3/4 in. Signed in pencil. Inscribed "IIet." A fine impression in fine condition. Full margins. "This flower now carries the name given to gods. Aphrodite means Leukotheia, or more accurately, leuka thea." (JD)
$750

Mangosteen
Diamond-drypoint, 1996, de Heer 246, edition 30. 4 1/4 x 9 in. Signed in pencil. Inscribed "2et." A fine impression in fine condition. Full margins. "The four different views are spatially connected through their dynamic unwinding and add up to a fruit garland - like a Hellenistic decoration." (JD)
$650

Persian Stones
Diamond drypoint, 1989, de Heer 191, edition 25. 7 1/8 x 7 3/4 in. Signed in the plate and signed and dated in pencil. This is a fine impression in fine condition. The margins are full. Demus has created a wonderful series of stone studies which are quite unique in the history of graphic art. Other examples are currently available.
SOLD

Purpura with Dragon
Diamond drypoint, 1989, de Heer 211, edition 30. 4 1/4 x 4 5/8 in. Signed and dated in pencil. It's a fine impression in fine condition with full margins. "I found the shell in Naples, the Taoist dragon was inspired by the famous handscroll by Chen Rong, Nine Dragons among Clouds and Waves (Thirteenth Century; Boston, Museum of Fine Arts.)" (JD)
$650

Purpura, Large Murex
Diamond-drypoint, 1989, de Heer 209, edition 30. 6 1/2 x 6 7/8 in. Signed in pencil. Inscribed "IIet." A fine impression in fine condition. Full margins. "A surging image of sea waves turned to stone, fragile, carved by the sea." (JD)
$750

Rembrandt Shell and Tiger Moth
Diamond drypoint, 2005, not in DeHeer, edition 25. 2 5/8 x 4 5/8 in. Signed in pencil. This is a fine impression in fine condition with full margins. This is one of three artist's proofs apart from the formal edition.
SOLD

Seed Capsules from a Monk's Hood
Diamond-drypoint, 1988, de Heer 161, edition 25. 9 3/4 x 6 1/2 in. Signed in pencil. Inscribed "Iet." A fine impression in fine condition. Full margins. "When making this etching I had invisible companions: Durer's 'Knight, Death and the Devil' rode beside me, and night after night they crossed my copper plate." (JD)
$750

Selenite-Rose
Diamond drypoint, 1990, de Heer 217, edition 30. 5 3/8 x 7 5/8 in. Signed in pencil. "Inscribed "IIet." A fine impression in fine condition. Full margins. "Stones contain the power to send us on imaginary journeys, to transport us to other countries and dimensions." (JD)
$550

Star of Bethlehem II
Diamond-drypoint, 1985, de Heer 69, edition 20. 8 1/4 x 4 1/4 in. Signed in pencil. Inscribed "IIet.". A fine impression in fine condition. Full margins. "Apart from Leonardo's few studies of plants, Durer was my teacher." (JD)
$500

The Final Christmas Roses
Diamond-drypoint, 1987, de Heer 139, edition 25. 6 1/4 x 7 in. Signed in pencil. Inscribed "IIet." Also inscribed "probedruck." A fine impression in fine condition. Full margins. "The basic idea is the concentration of strength, from whose centre issues an explosive eruption - be it for a single flower or for an entire bouquet." (JD)
SOLD

The Grapes of Bacchus
Diamond drypoint, 1988, de Heer 182, edition 30. 10 1/8 x 8 3/4 in. Signed, dated and numbered in pencil. This is a superb impression in fine condition. The margins are full. "The bunch of grapes sums up all that is happiness, and indeed the essence of Classical Antiquity. Geometrically shaped, alive, the enjoyment of perfection." (JD)
$800

Three Marrons
Diamond-drypoint, 2004, de Heer 301, edition 30. 3 x 6 1/2 in. Signed in pencil. A fine, delicate impression in fine condition. Full margins.
$500

Two Rembrandt Shells
Diamond drypoint, 1990, de Heer 216, edition 30. 5 1/8 x 5 1/2 in. Signed in pencil. This is a fine impression in fine condition with full margins. This is a trial proof of the second state. "as a child...I was familiar with the shell from Rembrandt's etching; it was possibly the first time that I took note of the relationship between a work of art and it's source." I was also thinking of pointed carnival hats, and the hats donned by fools in works by Bosch and Breugel." (JD)
SOLD

Walnuts
Diamond drypoint, 2005, subsequent to de Heer, edition 25. 5 1/2 x 11 3/4 in. Signed in pencil. This is a fine impression in fine condition. The margins are full. This is a recent work from a series of walnut studies. This impression is a trial proof before the formal edition was printed.
$950

top of page

home - fine prints - artist spotlight - sell your prints - contact us