Amsterdam
| Reference: | S4576 |
| Author | Matthaus MERIAN "il vecchio" |
| Year: | 1638 ca. |
| Zone: | Amsterdam |
| Printed: | Frankfurt |
| Measures: | 360 x 280 mm |
€450.00
| Reference: | S4576 |
| Author | Matthaus MERIAN "il vecchio" |
| Year: | 1638 ca. |
| Zone: | Amsterdam |
| Printed: | Frankfurt |
| Measures: | 360 x 280 mm |
€450.00
Description
This plate was first used in Johann Ludwig Gottfried, "Neuwe Archontologia Cosmica...", first published by Matthias Merian in 1638, and reissued in numerous later editions. The print seems also to have been published separately.
Then it was included in the “Theatrum Europaeum”; was a journal on the history of the German-speaking lands by Matthäus Merian, published between 1633 and 1738 in 21 quarto volumes.
The plate shows a bird's-eye view of the city and its fortifications and several ships in the harbour.
Matthäus Merian the Elder (1593-1650) Swiss engraver native of Basel, worked in Frankfurt where he was able to work in the workshop founded by Theodor de Bry. Merian distinguished himself, so much so that he married Maria Magdalena de Bry, daughter of Johann Theodore de Bry, and from about 1625 he took over the company, giving it a considerable increase and dealing in particular with the development of topography and travel books. The Kaspar sons and above all the renowned Matthaeus the younger also worked in the Merian typography, who after the death of their father continued with unchanged success the management of the business which continued until 1727. In 1638 Merian printed the Neuwe Archontologia cosmica, das ist, Beschreibung aller Kaÿserthumben, Königreichen und Republicken der gantzen Welt works on the description of the World already published ten years earlier with a modest look that Merian revolutionized by enriching it with 98 tables, some of which are double sheets. The Archontologia went through four other editions up to 1695 with text either in Latin or in German, not homogeneous in terms of the number and type of engravings inserted. In 1640 Itinerarium Italiæ Nov-antiquæ written by Martin Zeiller was published, reprinted in 1688 with the title Topographiæ Italiæ.
Etching, with fine later hand colour, very good condition.
Matthaus MERIAN "il vecchio" (Basilea 1593 - Bad Schwalbach 1650)
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Known for his mature work as a topographical printmaker based in Germany, Matthaeus Merian spent half a dozen of his early years in Lorraine and Paris (1610-15). He had learned to etch in Basel by 1609, the date on an etching copied from an old view of that city, and had studied etching and glass painting in Zurich in 1610. He was taken to Nancy as the assistant to etcher Friedrich Brentel. In 1610-11 they produced the series of large etchings that documented the funeral of Duke Charles III of Lorraine. In Nancy, Merian came into contact with Jacques Bellange, some of whose etchings he was to copy a few years later. Merian continued on to Paris where he worked productively from 1612-15. He learned by copying works by such French engravers as the portraitists Leonard Gaultier and Thomas de Leu, and the architect Claude Chastillon. He etched portraits of Louis XIII, Marie de Medici, and Anne of Austria, often with views of Paris in the background. He recorded out-of-doors court festivals and royal ceremonies, and public buildings such as the Hotel de Ville. He returned to Basel in 1616, during which time he completed a few plates, for a total of some fifty prints of French subjects.
The artist's total oeuvre is enormous, consisting of nearly 700 single plates and series of prints, plus thousands of additional vignettes, views, and book illustrations. His experience in France was important for him and important for the documentation of French life. Few French-born etchers were active at this time, and Merian's timely and observant images are among the liveliest journalistic records of that era.
In Frankfurt he spent most of his working life and with Martin Zeiller(1589-1661), a German Geographer, and later with his own son, he produced a series of Topographia consisting of 21 volumes including a very large number of town plans as well as maps of most countries and a World Map, a very popular work issued in many editions. He also took over and completed the later parts and editions of the Grand Voyages and Petits Voyages originally started by De Bry in 1590.
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Matthaus MERIAN "il vecchio" (Basilea 1593 - Bad Schwalbach 1650)
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Known for his mature work as a topographical printmaker based in Germany, Matthaeus Merian spent half a dozen of his early years in Lorraine and Paris (1610-15). He had learned to etch in Basel by 1609, the date on an etching copied from an old view of that city, and had studied etching and glass painting in Zurich in 1610. He was taken to Nancy as the assistant to etcher Friedrich Brentel. In 1610-11 they produced the series of large etchings that documented the funeral of Duke Charles III of Lorraine. In Nancy, Merian came into contact with Jacques Bellange, some of whose etchings he was to copy a few years later. Merian continued on to Paris where he worked productively from 1612-15. He learned by copying works by such French engravers as the portraitists Leonard Gaultier and Thomas de Leu, and the architect Claude Chastillon. He etched portraits of Louis XIII, Marie de Medici, and Anne of Austria, often with views of Paris in the background. He recorded out-of-doors court festivals and royal ceremonies, and public buildings such as the Hotel de Ville. He returned to Basel in 1616, during which time he completed a few plates, for a total of some fifty prints of French subjects.
The artist's total oeuvre is enormous, consisting of nearly 700 single plates and series of prints, plus thousands of additional vignettes, views, and book illustrations. His experience in France was important for him and important for the documentation of French life. Few French-born etchers were active at this time, and Merian's timely and observant images are among the liveliest journalistic records of that era.
In Frankfurt he spent most of his working life and with Martin Zeiller(1589-1661), a German Geographer, and later with his own son, he produced a series of Topographia consisting of 21 volumes including a very large number of town plans as well as maps of most countries and a World Map, a very popular work issued in many editions. He also took over and completed the later parts and editions of the Grand Voyages and Petits Voyages originally started by De Bry in 1590.
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