Ridinger, Johann Elias (Ulm 1698 – Augsburg 1767). Fox-Family. Under a mighty oak a vixen with three whelps consuming a he-duck. Left amidst the reeds two further foxes jumping for the she-duck. With the designated different tracks in a 6 cm subfield. Etching an engraving. (1733.) Inscribed: Cum Priv. Sac. Caes. Maj. / Joh. El. Ridinger inven. pinx. Sculps. et excud. Aug. Vind. 62 x 45.9 cm.

Thienemann ( “This is my pet” ) + Schwarz 192. – Plate VI (only as new impression in the rich 1885 Ridinger collection at Boerner XXXIX, 1797) of the “so-called large book of traces” “(Thorough Description and Presentation of the Wild Animals)” as “the wonderful (8-sheet) set” (Hollstein & Puppel, XL, 1005, 1928) filling with enthusiasm already Thienemann in 1856 :

“ What a pity that we are already at the end of this delicious collection … All the more should be described these plates because they are large and beautiful … Blumenbach (Johann Friedrich B. in his “Handbook of Natural History”) says of them: ‘Unquestioningly Ridinger’s master work done full of fire in his best years …’ These words of 1782 are still the full truth. ”

Thanks to the strong reduction of the traces there was much room for

a  group  picture  of  incredibly  pictorial  beauty

already impressing alone by its largeness (among the œuvre the set belongs to the greatest) and effectively corroborates Ridinger’s rank as “Augsburg’s most important landscapist in his time” (Welisch).

Final state with the additional designation of the traces in French as the rule for the 2^nd part (plts. 5 ff.) of the work. – Watermarked with large crown with tag FAI + WANGEN as typically for old laid paper often used by Ridinger. – The wide margins only outside time-marked. Optically as a whole somewhat impaired, but still satisfactorily.
Offer no. 28,133 / EUR  1012. / Export price EUR  961. (c. US$ 1551.) + shipping

„ Herzlichen Dank für die sorgfältig verpackten Bände … “

(Herr H. M., 26. Mai 2007)