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David Humbert de Superville prints bring the drawings of a remarkable Dutch artist and thinker into your home: roaring lions, classical statues, Italian frescoes, figure studies and scenes from Dutch history. Humbert de Superville spent eleven years in Rome, earned the nickname "Giottino" for his likeness to Giotto, and wrote an art theory later admired by the Symbolists. Our collection of fine art prints includes hundreds of his drawings.

About David Humbert de Superville

David Pierre Giottino Humbert de Superville was born in The Hague on 18 July 1770, the son of the painter Jean Humbert, who trained him. His brother, the military engineer Jean Emile Humbert, is credited with rediscovering ancient Carthage. In 1789 he went to Rome, where he assisted the British artist William Young Ottley and was influenced by the Dutch painter Hendrik Voogd. The Italians nicknamed him Giottino, "little Giotto", for his likeness to the early Italian master.

Having supported the French revolutionary troops who occupied Rome in 1798, he had to leave when papal rule returned in 1800. After spells in France, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Enkhuizen he settled in Leiden in 1812, lecturing at the university. He led the Leiden drawing academy Ars Aemula Naturae from 1814 to 1823 and was the first director of the university's cabinet of prints, drawings and plaster casts until his death.

His best-known book, Essai sur les signes inconditionnels dans l'art (1827), studied the basic signs through which art speaks. He died in Leiden on 9 January 1849.

Style and Subjects

Humbert de Superville was above all a draughtsman. His drawings are clear and linear, influenced by Italian art before the Renaissance and by classical sculpture. He copied frescoes in the Camposanto at Pisa and studied ancient statues such as the Laocoön and the Venus de' Medici.

He drew lions again and again, partly for a never-built design for a giant lion statue in the sea off Katwijk. His book on the "unconditional signs" of art was widely known to the Symbolists; the critic Albert Aurier named him one of their forerunners.

Famous Works

• Allegory (1801). An etching that may have inspired Paul Gauguin's Spirit of the Dead Watching.
• Johan Melchior Kemper (1776–1824), Jurist and Statesman (1815), Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. His painted portrait of the Dutch jurist and statesman.
• Essai sur les signes inconditionnels dans l'art, Plate I (1827). A plate from his influential treatise on the signs of art.
• The Expulsion from Paradise, after a fresco in the Camposanto at Pisa. One of his copies of early Italian frescoes.
• Head of a roaring lion. One of his many lion studies.
• Head of the Laocoön. A drawing of the famous ancient sculpture in the Vatican.
• Oldenbarnevelt before his Execution. A scene from Dutch history.

Decorating with Humbert de Superville Prints

Humbert de Superville's line drawings suit a study, library or hallway with a scholarly, classical feel. Hang his lion heads and sculpture studies in a grid in thin black or oak frames with generous white mats.

His fresco copies and history scenes work well in a dining room or reading room, and a single bold lion makes a striking accent above a desk or console.

FAQ

Who was David Humbert de Superville?

David Pierre Giottino Humbert de Superville (1770–1849) was a Dutch draughtsman, lithographer, etcher, portrait painter and art theorist who worked mainly in Rome and Leiden.

Why was he called Giottino?

Giottino, or "little Giotto", was a nickname he earned in Italy because his drawings resembled the work of the early Italian master Giotto.

What is his Essai sur les signes inconditionnels dans l'art?

It is his 1827 treatise on the basic, unconditional signs of art. It was widely known among the Symbolists, who saw him as a forerunner.

Why did he draw so many lions?

He made drawings and designs for a giant lion statue to stand in the sea off Katwijk, which was never built.

Where can I see his work?

His portrait of Johan Melchior Kemper is in the Rijksmuseum, and many drawings are in Leiden University's collections.

Related Artists

• Paul Gauguin: his 1801 Allegory may have inspired Gauguin
• William Young Ottley: the British artist he assisted in Rome
• Hendrik Voogd: Dutch painter in Rome who influenced him
• John Flaxman: fellow linear draughtsman of the same era