Paysages (Landscapes)
Franz Edmund Weirotter (1730-1771), Paysages (Landscapes), 1759, complete set of 6 (4 are illustrated on this site), [signed in the plates lower right Weirotter sc, and also signed and dated in the images upper left; plate one with the title and inscription “Dessines et engraves apre nature par Weyrotter”]. Reference: Nagler 22. In generally good condition, with full margins (stains and spotting in margins away from images, browning at edges, plate 5 with an unobtrusive printer’s crease and thin area outside of image, plate 1 with a stain bottom edge well away from image). Platemarks app. 7 x 9 1/2, images 6 1/2 x 8 3/4, sheets 10 1/4 x 16 1/2 inches. Not hinged or matted.
A fine complete set of these rarely encountered images.
Weirotter was one of the most distinguished of the German 18th Century landscape etchers. Although many of these printmakers specialized in reproducing the work of others, Wierotter tended to create original compositions for his prints. The 6 plates in this set are original Wierotter compositions, although they are remindful of the work of 17th Century Dutch artists such as Jan van Goyen, Pieter Molyn, or Jacob van Ruisdael. Hind noted of Weirotter that he was “most successful when he keeps to plates of the small dimensions, to which his delicate and clearly etched line is fitted.”
Each of these six scenes involves waterways – rushing falls, and lakes and rivers with people walking along the shores, fishing and boating, and crossing flimsy bridges.
