Frontispiece

Johann Wilhelm Baur

Basic information

ID: Г-IV-1028
Author: Johann Wilhelm Baur
Name: Frontispiece
Date of creation: 1635
Country: Germany
Technique: etching
Material: paper
Dimensions (height x width, cm): 10.7 x 14.8

Additionally

Type: graphic art
Genre: battle painting
Plot: Battle
Provenance: Lviv Historical Museum

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 composition is the first sheet in the "Fantasy of Various Battles" series. An inscription with the title of the graphic series "Capricci di Varie Battaglie di Gio Guglielmo Baur 1635" is depicted on a war flag in the centre of the work. A horseman on the left is blowing a trumpet decorated with a war flag. An artilleryman is standing on the right, next to the cannon, and is about to fire a volley. Such military attributes as knightly armour, weapons and banners complement the composition. The sheet is part of the "Capricci di Varie Battaglie" ("Fantasies of Various Battles") series, which consists of 16 engravings. It was first published in Rome in 1635. The main theme of the series is imaginary battles between the armies of different nations. Johann Wilhelm Baur most likely began his work on engravings during his trip to Italy in 1634. This series was dedicated to the noble Italian family Orsini.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Frontispiece

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