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Frontispiece (From the "Fantasies of Various Battles" Series)

Johann Wilhelm Baur

  • Frontispiece (From the "Fantasies of Various Battles" Series) 2
Basic information
ID
Г-IV-1017
Author
Johann Wilhelm Baur
Name
Frontispiece (From the "Fantasies of Various Battles" Series)
Technique
etching
Material
paper
Dimensions (height x width, cm)
10.7 x 14.2
Additionally
Information about author
Author
Johann Wilhelm Baur
Artist's lifetime
1607–1640
Country
Germany
Biography
Johann Wilhelm Baur was a leading German engraver and miniature painter of the first half of the 17th century. He began his studies in the German graphic artist and draftsman Friedrich Brentel's workshop in Strasbourg. His activities during this period, however, are hardly known. The artist gained fame after a trip to Italy, where he most likely arrived in 1626. It is assumed that Johann Wilhelm Baur settled in Rome, where he worked for Paolo Giordano II Orsini. Despite this, his first dated work, "Landscape with Vesuvius", was created in 1631, during his stay in Naples between 1631 and 1633. He later returned to Rome and executed some of his most successful graphic series. The artist went to Vienna in 1637. Although Johann Wilhelm Baur also worked as a painter, he became known primarily as a graphic artist who specialised in architectural landscapes, genre street scenes, and battles. In his works, he skilfully combined the style of the French graphic artist Jacques Callot and Florentine Stefano della Bella, with whom Baur was personally acquainted.
Object description
The etching depicts a curtain held by two warriors on both sides, with an angel portrayed in the middle at the top. Various parts of the armour are displayed on the sides. In the middle of the curtain is a prince's coat of arms and a Latin inscription. This etching is from the series "Fantasies of Various Battles" executed by Johann Wilhelm Baur in Rome (1631–1637) upon the commission of Federico Colonna, Prince of Paliano.
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery