Rare Wintter – A Winter for Wolves
Wintter, Joseph Georg (1751 Munich 1789). The Stag of Odd 20 Points attacked by Wolves. In mountainous winter landscape with fence and set back farm one of the two wolves has grasped the stag by the throat while the half covered other one operates from behind. Etching. Sheet size 11.8 x 15.9 cm.
Niemeyer 127. – Not related to one of the sets if not belonging to Niem. 21-24, stags & boars attacked by hounds. – Also not entered into the 44-sheet Augsburg omnibus edition on buff paper Schwerdt III, 190, a ( “Rare“, 1928 ) of 1821 the earliest. – Below trimmed to platemark, otherwise hard by the edge of the subject. – Impression rich in contrast of the
PARTICULARLY RARE FIRST STATE ON LAID PAPER .
As then also Weigel attested the early completed 1857 on occasion of the here otherwise not provable 137-sheet complete edition per lot 21336 of his art stock catalog:
“ Most sheets very rare .”
Wintter was electoral Bavarian Court and Hunt Engraver and member of the electoral academy at Dusseldorf and 1787 he was promoted even court chamber councilor as
rare “ (a)mong those numerous court and independent artists
of the Electoral Palatinate Bavarian court ”
(pope of forest cameralists Wilhelm Gottfried von Moser, b. 1729, from the “famous family of cameralists” [Heß in Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie] 1788 in Forst-Archiv [IV, 280 ff.]), who nevertheless till today remained outside of the small, yet growing circle of intimate connoisseurs under the lee of Ridinger and his continuing overwhelming effect, irrespective of voices of important contemporaries calling to attention just like von Moser with his however in this manner not to be adopted conclusion
“ always better than Riedinger ”
or Lorenz von Westenrieder of the same age (b. 1748, theologian, yet especially historian; “has generally an impressionable eye for scenic beauties” [Höhn]), who praised him highly in his 1783 “Almanac of Human History in Bavaria” and in 1785 wrote to Christian Felix Weisse, friend of Lessing’s and playwright in Leipsic:
“ This man has extraordinary talents .”
Finding its expression ultimately in the statement of Thieme-Becker XXXVI (1947), 79 f.
“ Next Ridinger the best German depictor of the hunt of the 18th century ”
after yet already 1909 and 1921 resp. Höhn (Studies on the Development of Munich Landscape Painting from the End of the 18th and the Early 19th Centuries: “one of the earliest“ among “the early beginnings of Munich Landscape Painting”) and Wolf (The Discovery of the Munich Landscape, illustrating seven of his etchings) resp. had put him into starting holes unrelated to the hunt.
Present work once more belonging to the hunt, though a sidetrack, in such a manner speaking for itself. And at the same time confirming also in this regard Nagler’s note of 1851 in the Künstler-Lexicon, according to which he
“ yet preferred … to do his studies in the hunting ground ” itself .
And, continuing, his “etchings are excellent and are in the treatment between those by Hollar and Riedinger”. To eventually emphasize 1863 once again expressly in the Dictionary of Monogramists (III, no. 68) the rarity of these beautiful sheets. Besides
present one of compositionally quite peculiar inherent charm .
And in such a manner , yet also thematically , without example with Ridinger. A trove in the œuvre.
Offer no. 15,665 / EUR 685. / export price EUR 651. (c. US$ 886.) + shipping
„ herzlichen Dank für die rasche und ausführliche Behandlung meiner Anfrage. Ich bestelle hiermit beide o. a. Gebote … bin ich auch mit Vorauszahlung einverstanden “
(Frau R. R., 20. November 2002)