Two Kingdoms for a Horse like this
Ridinger, Johann Elias (Ulm 1698 – Augsburg 1767). Cheval sauvage on le laisse dans le desert jusque dans la troisieme ou quatrieme, apres on le dresse pour l’usage, n’a qu’un quelque sois deux de petits, on s’en sert 15. ou 20. ans. The Wild Horse is left in the Wild up to the 3rd and 4th Year, then trained for use; mostly foals only one, now and then 2. Foals; they serve for use 15. to 20. Years. In mountainous parts “full of courage and fire, leaping over an old trunk lying across the way”. Flying the curled mane, the head turned to the right. Etching and engraving. (1736.) Inscribed: 40. / Cum Priv. Sac. Cæs. Majest. / I. El. Ridinger inven. pinx. sculps. et exc. Aug. Vind., otherwise as above in German, French, Latin, & below. 34.9 x 42.8 cm.
Thienemann + Schwarz 235. – Sheet 40 of the STUDY OF THE WILD ANIMALS with the subtext of the Hamburg pope of poets, jurist & senator, foremost, however, friend of Ridinger’s, Barthold Heinrich Brockes (1680-1747), in German. – With WANGEN watermark as so characteristic for contemp. impressions. – Margins on three sides 3.7-4.2, above 2.7 cm wide. – Professionally done tear in the wide white lower margin.
The final chord of this – once more ! –
so incomparably beautiful Ridinger suite ,
grasped by the overwhelmed Brockes as follows , to which Thienemann shouts a triumphant “Bravo!”:
“ Does not the ground shake and shiver? What a trampling one hears here? what a snorting fills the air! a wild yet fine animal gallops along in full run … As this animal a masterpiece by the creative nature , so is the figure created here by few lines ,
also the master’s masterpiece .
Let this picture be the last one , I cannot follow you any further Ridinger ,
or else paint alone .”
And not least and by chance already in 1901 Ernst Welisch qualified Ridinger as the indisputably “most important Augsburg landscapist of this time”. Here then
of shining-marvelous quality & therefore rarity ,
for even in exemplary old Ridinger collections the old impressions of particularly this so fine large-sized main set frequently figure as closely trimmed, damaged, and fully mounted. So including present one 1894 with Reich auf Biehla, while Coppenrath (1889) could not get hold of this sujet at all.
Offer no. 15,428 / EUR 1100. / export price EUR 1045. (c. US$ 1423.) + shipping
– – – The same as early impression before the number as unknown to literature of shining-marvelous quality. – More …
Der hiesige Weihnachts-/Neujahrsgruß 2005 endete mit „In diesem Sinne recht schöne Weihnachtstage voll Harmonie und sammlungszugewandter Muße … “ , letzterer Wunsch in einer Grußerwiederung aufgegriffen wurde mit den Worten
„ das Gutwort des Jahres – sammlungszugewandte Muße – wunderbar, hab einigen LBA/Goethefreunden dieses Gutwort genannt. Sie haben in einer verwahrlosten Zeit ein ‚linguistisches Gespür’! “
(Herr R. K., 5. Januar 2006)