Johann Christian Klengel’s etching “Herd of Cattle in Front of Ruins”, 1775

Johann Christian Klengel (1751–1824)

“Herd of Cattle in Front of Ruins” (aka “Viehherde vor Ruine”; “Landschap met ruïne op een rots waarvan aan de voet een herder met kudde” [Rijksmuseum title]; “Landscape with a Ruin on a Rock at the Foot of which a Shepherd with Herd”), 1775, from the series of twelve etchings, “XII Different Landscapes Invented and Etched by Johann Christian Klengel” (aka “XII verschiedene Landschafften erfunden und radirt von Johann Christian Klengel”).

Etching on laid paper, trimmed within the image borderline on the left and the right sides with loss of the artist’s name and date (1775) inscribed below the image, backed with a support sheet.

Size: (support sheet) 34 x 32 cm; (sheet) 16.3 x 16.3 cm.

Fröhlich G.66 (Anke Fröhlich 2005, “Glücklich gewählte Natur. Der Dresdner Landschaftsmaler Johann Christian Klengel (1751-1824): Monographie und Werkverzeichnis der Gemälde, Zeichnungen, Radierungen und Lithographien”, Hildesheim, George Olms, p. 327, cat. no. G.66).

The Rijksmuseum offers a description of this print (not reproduced): http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.132640.

Condition: a strong impression, trimmed significantly within the platemark and laid onto a backing sheet.

I am selling this very beautiful etching showing a woman and a man leading a mixed herd of livestock along a road running near a ruin—note that I originally thought that the ruin was a citadel tower, but I now understand that it may instead be a part of a Roman aqueduct (see https://www.heimatkreis-kesselsdorf.de/christian-klengel/)— for the total cost of AU$246 (currently US$173.88/EUR159.95/GBP141.21 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this sun drenched etching that (to my eyes) shows the influence of the artist's etching teacher, the stylistically versatile, Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich (commonly called Dietricy) (1712–1774)—see a print by this artist that I’ve listed previously and is presently available: https://www.printsandprinciples.com/2020/10/christian-wilhelm-ernst-dietrichs.html—please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich’s etching, “The Boulder at the Foot of the Mountain”, c1732

Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich (aka Dietricy; Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietricy) (1712–1774)

“The Boulder at the Foot of the Mountain” (aka “Der Felsblock am Fusse des Berges”), c1732, lifetime impression before the plate is numbered and titled in later states.

Etching on laid paper trimmed with a thread margin around the platemark and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 5.1 x 12.4 cm.

Inscribed on plate at upper left: “Dietricy”.

State ii (of iv) with the addition of the artist’s signature.

Linck 128 II (J.F. Linck 1846, “Monographie der von C.W.E. Dietrich radierten, geschabten und in Holz geschnittenen malerischen Vorstellungen’, Berlin, Rudolph Weigel, pp. 211–12 [see: https://digital.slub-dresden.de/werkansicht/dlf/105498/225/0/]).

J.F. Linck (1846) offers the following description of this print:

(Google Transl.) “Almost in the middle of this sheet, at the foot of a high mountain on the right, close to a country road leading to the left, one sees a large, pyramidal boulder erected; where a woman on a horse and a man walking next to her, accompanied by a dog, pass by. On the right in the foreground, by a hill, sits a man, next to whom a pack and a stick are lying.” (pp. 211–12).

Condition: strong impression trimmed around the platemark with a thread margin and laid onto a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper. The upper right corner is chipped and restored and the sheet has pale age-toning, otherwise the sheet is in very good condition for its considerable age with no significant stains.

I am selling this intimately small etching that, despite its size, presents a vast panorama radiant in sunlight for AU$252 (currently US$178.67/EUR152.26/GBP138.24 at the time of this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested this fascinating etching showing a traveller gesturing towards a natural oddity in the landscape—exemplifying the popular interest of the time in natural phenomena and the forces underpinning them—please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietricy’s etching, “Rocky landscape with bathing nymphs”, 1741

Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietricy (aka Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich) (1712–74)

“Rocky landscape with bathing nymphs” (Rijksmuseum title) (aka "Rotslandschap met badende nimfen"; “Die badenden Nymphen in der Felshöhle” [Link title]), 1741, in the manner of Cornelis van Poelenburch (aka Cornelis van Poelenburgh) (1594/5–1667), early impression (first state?) before numbering as plate 74 from “Oeuvre de C.W.E. Dietrich”, published in Dresden, c1775.

Etching on laid paper with small margins around the image borderline and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet/plate) 20 x 28.1 cm; (image borderline) 19.6 x 27.8 cm

Inscribed on plate below the image boderline: (centre) ‘“Dietricy" del & Aqua forti: Ao 1741: der 6 Octo’.

State i? (of iv) Note: I have not been able to compare the different states but this impression matchesl the first state impression held by the Rijksmuseum.

Linck 136 I (4) (JF Linck 1846, “'Monographie der von C. W. E. Dietrich radierten, geschabten und in Holz geschnittenen malerischen Vorstellungen”, Berlin, p. 224–26, cat.no. 136); see also the description of this print offered by the Rijksmuseum:

http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.105691; and by the British Museum:

https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1471276&partId=1&searchText=dietrich+bathing+nymphs&page=1

Condition: richly inked, crisp, faultless impression with a small margin around the image borderline in excellent conditions for the age of the print (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, significant stains—close examination shows a few marks—or foxing). The sheet is laid on a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper.

I am selling this outstanding, museum quality, impression glowing with tonal contrasts for the total cost of AU$320 (currently US$225.42/EUR198.16/GBP178.49 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this masterwork of etching showcasing not only the “borrowed” style of Cornelis van Poelenburch, but also the eroticised subject matter that appealed to Van Poelenburch (viz. naked nymphs seen bathing) and that earned him the nickname (or what his mates termed his “bent name”), “Satiro” (Satyr), please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold

(2nd Copy) Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietricy’s etching, “The Small Waterfalls at Tivoli”, 1744

NOTE THAT THIS IS A SECOND COPY OF THE SAME PRINT THAT HAS BEEN LISTED BEFORE (the previous impression has been sold)

Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietricy (aka Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich) (1712–74)

“The Small Waterfalls at Tivoli” (“Die kleinen Wasserfälle bei Tivoli”, Link title); “Arcadian landscape with waterfall” (“Arcadisch landschap met waterval”, Rijksmuseum title), 1744, published by Johann Friedrich Frauenholz (aka Jean Frederic Frauenholz) (1758–1822)  in Nuremberg.

Etching on laid paper with small margins around the plate mark, backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 10.1 x 15.9 cm; (plate) 9.1 x 15 cm

Signed and dated in the plate at upper right: “Dietricy 1744”.

State iii (of iii) with the Zingg number, “45”, erased from the upper-left corner.

Linck 153-III (III) (JF Linck 1846, “'Monographie der von C. W. E. Dietrich radierten, geschabten und in Holz geschnittenen malerischen Vorstellungen”, Berlin, pp. 251–52, cat.nr. 153); see also the description of this print held by the Rijksmuseum: http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.105713.

Condition: richly inked impression with small margins and backed with a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper. The upper left corner margin is restored otherwise the sheet is in a good condition with minor signs of age toning and handling.

I am selling this small but exquisitely rendered etching of the waterfalls and cascades at Tivoli (Italy) for the total cost of AU$267 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this remarkable nature study showing the effect of raking light on foliage, rocks and water, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Dietricy was a bit of an artistic chameleon in the sense that he had the gift to mimic other artists’ styles. This ability, however, did not mean that his approach to image making was rinsed clean of showing personal stylistic traits. For example, this very beautiful nature study of the waterfalls and cascades at Tivoli is a fine example of his very insightful and somewhat unique approach to portraying spatial depth.

In one sense, Dietricy uses the traditional approach for showing spatial depth by making the foreground waterfalls slightly darker than those further away and employs an increasing amount of white space around each line to suggest an even greater lightening of tone into the far distance. There is, however, another device that Dietricy employs to portray depth and this, I see, as being his personal stylistic hallmark: Dietricy uses a transition from comparatively small, multi-directional cross-hatched strokes to render forms in the foreground to parallel aligned strokes in the middle distance and finally to almost horizontal strokes designed to portray distant mountains and sky.

Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietricy’s etching, “Three Studies: Tritons Fighting in Shallow Water”, 1763

Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietricy (aka Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich) (1712–1774)

“Three Studies: Tritons Fighting in Shallow Water”, 1763, three plates inscribed consecutively: “19”, “20” and “22”. 

Etchings on laid paper trimmed to the plate mark with Adrian Zingg’s engraved numbers inscribed in the upper corners indicating that these impressions were a part of Dietricy’s posthumous edition arranged by his widow. (Note: after the plate was published in the Zingg edition the number was erased by JF Frauenholz for Fraenholz's later edition.)

Plate 19 numbered in extremely small numerals at upper-left corner, “19”, and inscribed at upper-right corner: “Dietricy f / 1763”. Size: (sheet) 8.8 x 14.6 cm. State ii (of iii) before the inscribed Zingg number is erased in state iii.

Plate 20 numbered at upper-left corner, “20”, and inscribed at upper-right corner: “Dietricy 1763” with the number “3” reversed. Size: (sheet) 8.6 x 14.5 cm. State ii (of iii) before the inscribed Zingg number is erased in state iii.

Plate 22 numbered at upper-right corner, “22”, and inscribed at lower-right: “Dietricy”. Size: (sheet) 8.6 x 15 cm. State ii (of iii) before the inscribed Zingg number is erased in state iii.

See the description of each of these etchings at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco: https://art.famsf.org/christian-wilhelm-dietricy-or-dietrich

Condition: richly inked, faultless impressions trimmed to the plate marks and with thread margins. The sheets have remnants of hinges and collectors’ reference numbers verso and are lightly age-toned appropriate to the age of the prints; otherwise they are in excellent condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains or foxing).

I am selling this set of three studies for AU$480 in total (currently US$357.62/EUR308.34/GBP270.04 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world (but not, of course, any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries).

If you are interested in purchasing these small but graphically strong etchings, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

History has not been very kind to Dietricy (aka Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich) as his prints are often dismissed with comments such as the opening description of his artwork in Wikipedia: “...he was adept at imitating many earlier artists, but never developed a style of his own” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Wilhelm_Ernst_Dietrich). Ooch!

Certainly, I have to concur with this assessment in terms of this suite of three etchings of tritons fighting, as the style, subject, and even the format, is clearly borrowed from Salvator Rosa’s (1615–1673) series, “Battling Tritons”; for example see: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1448120&partId=1&searchText=Salvator+Rosa+tritons&page=1.

Looking beyond Dietricy’s disposition to cannibalise other artists’ ideas, the one attribute that to my mind gives Dietricy legitimacy as a master of his craft is the way that he employs line. In his hands, line is used to guide the eye to focus on the key features in his composition—note for instance how in each of these prints the hand of the triton holding the club is drawn with precision—while simultaneous guiding the eye away from the “unimportant” features—note the loss of detail in drawing the tritons’ tails. I mention this attribute to his style because a quick check on his source of inspiration—Rosa’s tritons—reveals that Rosa is more democratic in his use of line in the sense that Rosa portrays nearly all of his featured subjects with the same degree of focus.

Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietricy’s etching, “The Small Waterfalls at Tivoli”, 1744

Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietricy (aka Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich) (1712–74)

“The Small Waterfalls at Tivoli” (“Die kleinen Wasserfälle bei Tivoli”, Link title); “Arcadian landscape with waterfall” (“Arcadisch landschap met waterva”,l Rijksmuseum title), 1744

Etching on laid paper with Adrian Zingg’s engraved number, “45”, in the upper-left corner indicating that this impression was part of Dietricy’s posthumous edition arranged by his widow. (Note: after the plate was published in the Zingg edition the number was erased by JF Frauenholz for Fraenholz's later edition.)

Size: (sheet) 12.8 x 18.6 cm; (plate) 9.1 x 14.6 cm

Signed and dated in the plate at upper right: “Dietricy 1744”.

Inscribed in extremely small numerals at the upper-left corner: “45”.

State ii (of iii) with the plate polished and the Zingg number, “45”, inscribed before it is erased in state iii. Note: I needed to use a loupe to see the inscribed number as it is so small!

Linck 153-II (III) (JF Linck 1846, “'Monographie der von C. W. E. Dietrich radierten, geschabten und in Holz geschnittenen malerischen Vorstellungen”, Berlin, pp. 251–52, cat.nr. 153); see also the description of this print held by the Rijksmuseum: http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.105713. 

   

Condition: richly inked impression in near pristine condition with small margins varying in size but approximately 2 cm. On the back of the sheet there is a very pale offset of another print.

I am selling this small but exquisitely rendered etching of the waterfalls and cascades at Tivoli (Italy) for the total cost of AU$157 (currently US$124.83/EUR104.57/GBP96.62 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this remarkable nature study showing the effect of raking light on foliage, rocks and water, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold

Dietricy was a bit of an artistic chameleon in the sense that he had the gift to mimic other artists’ styles. This ability, however, did not mean that his approach to image making was rinsed clean of showing personal stylistic traits. For example, this very beautiful nature study of the waterfalls and cascades at Tivoli is a fine example of his very insightful and somewhat unique approach to portraying spatial depth.

In one sense, Dietricy uses the traditional approach for showing spatial depth by making the foreground waterfalls slightly darker than those further away and employs an increasing amount of white space around each line to suggest an even greater lightening of tone into the far distance. There is, however, another device that Dietricy employs to portray depth and this, I see, as being his personal stylistic hallmark: Dietricy uses a transition from comparatively small, multi-directional cross-hatched strokes to render forms in the foreground to parallel aligned strokes in the middle distance and finally to almost horizontal strokes designed to portray distant mountains and sky.