Leben Georg Philipp Rugendas, und Johannes Kupezki

FÜSSLI, Johann Caspar.

Edité par Johann Caspar Füssli, Zurich, 1758

A propos de cet article

"THE ENGRAVER AS SCHOLAR-HISTORIAN. 4to. [19 x 14 cm]. 48 pp, plus 2 engraved plates signed by Füssli and others. Bound in 19th century marbled card covers; ownership inscription on flyleaf dated "London, 1943", otherwise clean and fresh. Sole edition of this touching, privately-printed tribute to two of Füssli s artistic colleagues, the military painter Georg Philipp Rugendas (1666 1742) and the celebrated Bohemian portraitist Ján Kupecký (1667-1740). Rarely expressed in print during the period, Füssli (1706-1782) demonstrates surprisingly tender feelings of solidarity with his fellow artisans, also dedicating his work to Johann Georg Wille, Royal Engraver to Louis XVI: "The following pages are certain to lift two men out of obscurity, who have brought honor upon our Fatherland. To whom should I dedicate them? Other than my generous friend, who has proved through his own example, that tender friendship does not always demand merit on both sides; the throbbing desire [pochendes Bestreben] for the same, and a pure, dominating aspiration on one side of the scale, of the loved one, counts for just as much as the real merit with all of its greatness on the other side…". According to their entries in the ADB, Füssli s essays were the earliest biographies of both of these figures, "both of whom won the approval of the critics, one during his lifetime and the other only after his death" (p. 6). Füssli himself was a pupil of Kupecký, and his account is interspersed with personal anecdotes "Kupecký often told me, that he had never felt such warm feelings towards a nobleman, as his did towards the Czar [of Russia]…". The text describes the life and career of each artist, as well as a list of his most important paintings; in the case of Rugendas, Füssli notes that he has been able to obtain from the Augsburg printseller Jeremias Wolff no fewer than 38 engravings signed by Rugendas; 80 smaller mezzotints; and 50 pieces engraved after Rugendas designs. A charming vignette on p. 18 shows Kupecký with his trademark walking stick and large spectacles at work as a portraitist, showing a nobleman sitter his finished portrait. In the case of his teacher, Füssli gives a much more detailed list of 23 paintings including height and width, and often including an elaborate description of the scene depicted, rather than a short title. He also lists 11 paintings by other artists including Guerchino and Titian which were found in Kupecký s estate after his death, and finally a brief note about two of Kupecký s students, Max Händl and Gabriel Müller of Ansbach ("A very good painter. All of the drapery in Kupezki s paintings which looks convincing were done by this painter… He was my friend."). OCLC shows four copies in US libraries, at the Met, Newberry, Duke, and Princeton. * Holzmann & Bohatta III, 549; and cf eg. Schwemmer, Wilhelm, "Kupezky, Johann" in Neue Deutsche Biographie 13 (1982), pp. 315-316.".

N° de réf. du vendeur D0375

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Leben Georg Philipp Rugendas, und Johannes Kupezki
• Éditeur: Johann Caspar Füssli, Zurich
• Date de parution: 1758
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • Art & Architecture
  • Illustrated