With the Eagle as Revelation of Creation
Ridinger, Johann Elias (Ulm 1698 – Augsburg 1767). S. John. The evangelist in plate-filling figure before heroic landscape, looking up to the right, pointing with the left at the book both held by the right and supported on a boulder, to the right at his feet the eagle as the belonging to cherub symbol. Mezzotint. Inscribed: Iohann Elias Ridinger sculps. et excud. Aug. Vind., otherwise in German as above. 51 x 37.5 cm.
Provenance
Counts Faber-Castell
their Ridinger sale 1958
with its lot no. 106
on the underlay carton
Radulf Count of Castell-Rüdenhausen
(1922-2004)
Thienemann + Schwarz 1264; Counts Faber-Castell (1958) 106. – Not in Weigel, Art Stock Catalogue I-XXVIII (1838/57) , Silesian Ridinger collection at Boerner XXXIX (1885) , Coppenrath Collection (1889 f.), Reich auf Biehla (1894) , Gg. Hamminger (1895) , Helbing XXXIV (Works by J. E. and M. E. Ridinger; 1900) , Rosenthal, Ridinger list 126 (1940).
First State
before the more elliptic gloriole and the “No. 15” below of the title as marks of the retouched plate (Schwarz 1264a) in very fine impression of shining chiaroscuro.
The final sheet of the completely extremely rare 4-sheet set of the evangelists of which also Faber-Castell had but 3 sheets, and count Radulf only 2 sheets (his S. Matthew here available). – With partially slightly (on the back somewhat more) stained margins of 5 (below) up to 10 mm round about, in this upper right written “40” in brown ink. – Smoothed horizontal centerfold and vertical trace of glue, both visible on the back only. Isolated pin(head)-fine tiny holes in the margin parts, only one left of the head perceptible as a little larger.
THE FINE MOTIF with the eagle represented in active great supportive pose as one of the four (Ezekiel) cherubim as
“ Symbol(s) of the creation worshipping and praising God ,
in which God reveals himself …
“ In the bible the cherubim appear as guardians of the paradise after the fall of man … while … in Christian art (they) develop to attributes of the four evangelists ”
(Meyers Konv.-Lex., 4th ed., III, 999/2).
Of proven rarity as generally preprogrammed for according to expert Sandrart (1675) the technically conditioned extremely fast wearing off mezzotint plate permits 50-60 good impressions only.
Correspondingly already in 1856 Thienemann, pages VIII + 270 :
“ The mezzotints are almost not available in the trade anymore
… all worked by and after Joh. El. Ridinger (are) that rare that they are to be found almost only in some public, grand print rooms. I have come across most of the described ones only in the famous print room at Dresden … ”
Offer no. 14,957 / EUR 730. / export price EUR 694. (c. US$ 945.) + shipping
“ Thank you very much for your prompt and very cooperative handling of this order. I very much look forward to seeing the map ”
(Mr. D. R.-H., January 26, 2005)