Jan Breughel, M. Merian - Nuremberg landscapes, complete series (6) in proof states by Merian (RRRR) / Description: Jan Breughel the Younger , who had spent some days in Nürnberg made the original drawings for this series. The engraver and publisher Peter Isselburg (1580-1631), originally from Cologne selected a total of six images, which were engraved by Matthäus Merian the Elder. He published the series in 1616 with etched titles top middle of the etchings. Here a complete series of these landscapes from the Nuremberg area (Wüttrich 226-231) in incredible rare proof states, before the title on top and with still square plate borders. Prints from this set are very rare to find let alone as a complete set in proof states even not described by Wütrich, the specialist who complied his catalogue raisonné in 1966. . This excellent early impressions before publishers address or title and with still square plate borders are from the very first impressions of the copper plates, proof states before adding title and before published. Matthäus Merian I born in 1593 married the daughter of Theodor de Bry in 1617 and worked from then for his father-in-law. Here early works even before his marriage In his mid twenties. His early work shows great talent for free etching. His landscape art from that period is the best in his oeuvre This series is certainly one of the nicest he made. The subjects are identified as: Hallers Weyer Hause (W.226), Fischers häuslein untterm Lazarëth, see also A. Dürer aquarell (W.227), S Johannesfriedhofs und Kirche (W.228), Der Tetzell Gartten bey dem Judenbiell (W.229), Mögeldorff (W.230), Zu Sanct Jobs (W.231) / Dimensions: 12,60 x 17,80 cm / Condition: Early outstanding, richly inked and luminous impressions, each on a full sheet of laid paper (18 x 26 cm) . Excellent condition with no folds, tears or stains. Old number in sepia ink in the upper right margin. A rare print series, from the uppermost rarity as a complete set in these outstanding proof states. / Literature: Druckgraphik MMerian AB 3.13, Landschaften aus der Umgebung von Nürnberg, M. Merian, 6 Bll., Wüthrich 226-231 (Proof state unknown to Wüthrich)--- (Even the finished states are very rare to find, only two complete sets recorded by Wühtrich and half a dozen incomplete sets) ----- Besides the Wüthrich catalogue raisonné, most of the information of this series is credited to the work by Katharina Krause: The Legitimation of Council Rule Through Vedute of the City and Territory. Se describes the importance of Nuremberg as a Lutheran imperial city that attracted many artists who came to Germany fled from Flanders and the Netherlands since the late sixteenth century either as religious refugees or for economic reasons. They brought invovations that resulted in this first print series with views of the Nürnberg environs. Only 10 years after the first Dutch examples which elevated the unspectacular surroundings of Haarlem into evidence of its newly achieved sovereignty as a theme of print series, artists began to draw motifs from the environs of Nürnberg in the mode of vedute. There were several existing templates for reproducing the Nürnberg landscape, and artists drew on Dutch series, such as the “Plaisante Plaetsen” by Claesz Vischer (1611–12), and his Brabant “Small Landscapes” by Pieter Brueghel the Elder. The original drawings for this series of engravings were by Jan Brueghel the Younger , who had spent some days in Nürnberg. From the pool of sheets, the engraver and publisher Peter Isselburg, originally from Cologne, selected a total of six images, which he kept in a similar format to form a self-contained series. The execution of the prints is ascribed to Matthäus Merian the Elder. ---- One of the subject is Das Angersche Weiherhaus [The pond house of the Angerer family]. the Weiherhaus [pond house] of the Angerer family, which had been previously depicted by Dürer.The engraving shows the timbered house on a wooded island next to a pond whose smooth water surface reflects the buildings and the vegetation. In the distance, we see one of Nürnberg’s gate towers; the background is formed by a fisherman with a net, and a barge on its way to the island. The themes are the modest buildings themselves, the reflections in the water, the ambience of the cloudy sky, and the people who are going about their work. The caption on the page emphasizes that this is a depiction of a real place. The print pays tribute to a work by Dürer, the city’s most famous artist, whose works were already much sought after in the decades around 1600– but at the same time, cityscapes such as these reflected a more recent movement in the European market that focused interest on local environments. This new mode was also characterized by the accurate reproduction of the buildings embedded in their surroundings and collections of farmsteads and rural roadways, which were all identifiable real-world places. --- Another subject is The Hallersche Weiherhaus, located near St. Peter's Church, was destroyed in the Second World War. Lit.: 'Nürnberger Schau' 1941, issue 10, p. 247 with ill., it is the one with the man with a stick walking before a wooden fence that covers the complete print foreground from left to right. / Medium: Six etchings /Circa: Circa 1615-1616 2400
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