Description: Antique print titled 'Premiere Incarnation (..)'. Old print of the first four incarnations (avatars) of the Hindu god Vishnu. According to the Bhagavad Gita, each of Vishnu’s ten avatars saved the world. The first avatar was a fish that lifted the vedas from the ocean. The second was a turtle that carried the world on its back to ensure its stability. The third was a boar that rescued the Earth, which had been thrown into the ocean by demons. The fourth was a half-lion, half-human creature that tore the demon Hiranyakashapu to pieces. Originates from 'Ceremonies et coutumes Religieuses...' , by A. Moubach. Artists and Engravers: Bernard Picarts was a French painter and engraver. Condition: Very good, please study image carefully. Premiere Incarnation - Matsya Avatar Year: 1723 to 1737 The early contacts between Europe and India were largely a result of voyages made for trading purposes. Many Europeans developed a keen interest and maintained journals, keeping accounts of their discoveries and travels in India. Some of these works and illustrations culminated into varied forms of prints. Some of these manifestations were fanciful, for many of these print-makers had never visited India. Nevertheless, they offer a rich store of information of the early days and the stylistic traditions prevailing in India and European countries. Bernard Picart was one of the most prolific engravers of his time in 18th Century Europe. Between 1723 to 1737, Picart in collaboration with publisher Jean Frederic Bernard, published their ambitious 7 volume magnum opus “Ceremonies et Coustumes Religieuses de tous les Peuples du Monde”, which translated simply means ‘Ceremonies and Religious Customs of all the people of the world’. Premiere Incarnation – Matsya Avatar, one of the ten avataras of Lord Vishnu, is an engraved plate from the set. Picart who was a masterful engraver, never visited India but for his works he largely relied on the sources available to him to present the European view of India, a testimony to prove the attention the engraver paid to the minutest of details. The First to Fourth Incarnations of the Hindu God Vishnu Bernard Picart - engraver Лист из книги "Ceremonies et Coustumes Religieuses de tous les Peuples du Monde" , by Bernard Picart