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Early German Lithography from the State Hermitage
Collection The 80 selected works include the rarest prints of high artistic quality; besides, these are typical examples of artistic production of the first third of the 19th century. Lithography is the only technique of printing graphics about the origin of which we have authentic information. It was invented by Alois Senefelder in Germany at the turn of the 19th century. Alois Senefelder found it difficult to date his invention precisely, dating it alternatively to 1796, 1798 or 1799. Presented at the exhibition is his Three Drawings by Albrecht Durer from the Prayer Book of Emperor Maximilian. This publication brought fame to Alois Senefelder, being his most successful business. Several sheets by Senefelder's pupils who worked on the Prayer Book together with him are also on display. They are Ferdinand Piloty (1786 - 1844) and Johann Nepomuk Strixner (1782 - 1855), being the first professional lithographers. Amongst the most notable works by Strixner are Winter Landscape, or The Slaughtering of Hogs, Prince Karl of Bavaria, Children Playing by the Candlelight and The Virgin and Child. The print Princess Auguste of Bavaria belongs to the most successful works by Ferdinand Piloty. The series of prints by Friedrich von Gartner (1792 - 1847) is also of interest. These are works associated with Classical Antiquity: Fragments of Classical Architecture, Tombstone in Classical Style, Ruins of the Theatre in Taormin and others. The most renowned artists presented at the exhibition are Franz Kruger (1797-1857) and Adolf von Menzel (1815-1905). Franz Kruger produced just several lithographs in 1818-1820s, but later he dealt with lithography only while creating portraits of members of the royal family. Three Horses at the Gate, the rarest and most well known work by the artist, is also on show. This young artist from Berlin was so skilled in depicting horses (an elegant genre adopted from England in the early 19th century) that the contemporaries called him 'horse Kruger'. A series of lithographs in pen The Artist's Life by Adolf von Menzel (1815-1905) is remarkable for its perfect drawing and richness in ingenuity and imagination. The small compositions below the main image of the lithograph look like a sort of remarks, marginalia, a typical feature of the 17th- and 18th-century etching. The Hermitage Collection of the early German lithography is large and interesting. A significant part of the collection is formed by the prints that came from the Winter Palace after the October Revolution of 1917. The Imperial Hermitage Museum collection was poor in prints. Due to the existing dynastic relationships the Winter Palace was rich in prints by German masters. A vast section of the exhibition presents lithographs from the library of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Russian Emperor Alexander II, nee Princess of Hessen. After the Revolution a considerable number of prints were transferred the Hermitage Museum from the State Museum Fund (formerly these prints were part of the St Petersburg nationalised collections). Besides, such famous collectors as S. P. Yaremich and G. S. Vereisky made a considerable contribution to the Hermitage Collection of lithography. Each of these assemblages entered the Hermitage in its own way and at its own time. However, only at present the Hermitage collection of early German lithography, except for a few works that have never been on display, makes up a significant single whole. |
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