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Battle of Poles Against Turks

Johann Wilhelm Baur

  • Battle of Poles Against Turks 2
Basic information
ID
Г-IV-1024
Author
Johann Wilhelm Baur
Name
Battle of Poles Against Turks
Date of creation
1637
Country
Germany
Technique
etching
Material
paper
Dimensions (height x width, cm)
10.7 x 14.2
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 engraving depicts a clash between Turkish horsemen and Polish infantrymen. Two Polish soldiers are in the centre of the composition. One is firing a musket, while the other is holding a bridle of an enemy horse to hit a Turkish rider with a sabre. A riderless horse is about to flee the battlefield behind them. On the left is a Turkish horse archer aiming an arrow at one of the Polish soldiers. A multi-figure battle is depicted behind the central scene. The engraving is part of "Battaglie di varie nazione" ("The Battles of Various Nations") series, which consisted of 13 sheets and was published in 1637.
Inscriptions
At the top centre, there is the inscription: "Battaglia Polacha Cotra Turchi"
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

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