Bernard Picard

BERNARD PICARD (Paris 1673 - Amsterdam 1733).
"Japanese customs, divinities and pagodas".
Four early 18th century Dutch engravings.
Texts in French.
Soiling, damp stains, cracks, creases and some tearing.
They were part of the book "Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde", which appeared from 1723 to 1743.
Measurements: 35 x 23.5 cm (larger) .
Bernard Picard was a French engraver. His father Etienne Picart was also an engraver. He moved to Antwerp in 1696, then spent a year in Amsterdam, before returning to France in late 1698. After his wife died in 1708, he moved to Amsterdam in 1711. Most of his work was illustrations of books, including the Bible and works by Ovid. His most famous work is Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde, which appeared from 1723 to 1743 and was an immense effort to record the religious rituals and beliefs of the world in all their diversity, as objectively and authentically as possible.