Auction introduction: Christie’s Old Master Prints sale returns to London on 2 July 2024, for a live auction offering a large and varied selection of important works which shaped the history of printmaking in Europe. The sale selection traces the evolution of the printed image over a period of five centuries: from German engravings of High Renaissance to British Prints of the early 19th century. Many of the works come with important provenances, from both public and private collections; among them the fabled print-holdings of Sam Josefowitz: Part I of his incomparable collection of Rembrandt’s etchings was offered in a landmark sale in December 2023, to be followed by Part II in December this year. The depth and quality of the Josefowitz Collection is exemplified in the present sale by the very rare engraving Shepherds in a Landscape by Giulio and Domenico Campagnola; by two interpretations of Christ carrying the Cross by Martin Schongauer and Jacques Bellange, respectively; and other rarities by Lucas van Leyden, Camillo Procaccini, Jacques Callot and many others.