This beautiful and highly detailed steel engraving is entitled “The Syren”, and is from a picture by Charles Lewis Muller. Charles Louis Müller (also known as Müller de Paris) (1815-1892) was a French painter.
It is a plate or page from the gloriously illustrated Art Journal, 1876. You can read about the Art Journal on Wikipedia HERE
To sum up the Art Journal:
“Was the most important British 19th-century magazine on art. It was founded in 1839 by Hodgson & Graves, print publishers, 6 Pall Mall, with the title Art Union Monthly Journal (or The Art Union), the first issue of 750 copies appearing 15 February 1839. It was published in London but its readership was global in reach”
The copy of the Art Journal I found several years ago was in poor condition with several pages missing, torn and or loose – however even after over 150 years it is a gem – with several high quality printed plates like this one, and fascinating reading with in depth articles on Artists, Exhibitions and more from a long gone era.
Print Paper Press 