Rugendas I, Georg Philipp (1666 Augsburg 1742). Horsemen, Cavalry Battles, and Camp Sceneries from 1693 to 1705. 24 sets of 48 leaves (of totally 27 of 64 leaves). Engravings in clair-obscur by Johann Christian Rugendas (1708 Augsburg 1781). Ca. 1740. Oblong fol. Contemporary half leather on 5 ribs with leather corners and marbled covers.

Teuscher 593-640 (of 589-652) with illustrations; Stillfried 529-576 (of 525-588). – Compare Nagler, Joh. Chr. Rugendas, 5-17. – publications of the ridinger gallery 7. – With engraved old coat-of-arms exlibris and that of the collection of Dr. Roederstein.

The 24 sets a-x (g = used twice; “AA” not present here placed before “a” by Teuscher and Stillfried neglecting the sequence of letter counting) complete within themselves and representing the father’s paintings. The 80 clair-obscurs Nagler counted and devided arbitrarily into 17 sets include also only drawings by the father.

The sets a-x here worked after the paintings and mostly one- or two-leaved, but also of 4 (2) and 8 leaves. Those sets AA, y + z not present here documenting 4, 10 + 2 paintings resp. All with the signatures of father (incl. date, partly with the place of their origin) and son in the plate.

Printed on uniformly strong laid paper of 24 x 36 cm the individual sizes of the engravings measure 10.2-21.7 x 10.5-32.4 cm dominated by a medium size of ca. 17 x 24 cm. Corresponding hereto the differently wide margins, only one of the largest leaves has been trimmed 8 cm on platemark. – Nearly 5 cm of the margin of the first leaf renewed, the second leaf with a slight fold on the left in the lower picture.

Excellent collection of those works that document the genious founder of the Rugendas dynasty as

painter  of  horses

that incomparably. Specialized on the fatherly works the second son Christian used

(or clair-obscur, Schmidt in the General German Biography). This

“ counter effect of shadow and light in painting and engraving raised to the principle of the picture’s design … required a far-reaching giving up of locale tones

and  sacrifices  graphic  sharpness
to  the  pictoresque  charm  in  its  real  meaning

as it is created by the polarity of light and shadow in their graduations. The clair-obscur painting started with Correggio, was developed by Caravaggio and indirectly taken over from this by Rembrandt who developed its outmost possibilities ”

(Jahn).

Such a non plus ultra of reproducing also here. The feverishly raised movements of the bodies passing over to the viewer in a degree as if he were amongst them, in brotherly keeping with their thoroughbred heads, too. Thus validly offering what Wilhelm Schmidt summed up already one hundred years ago :

“ Doubtless (the elder Georg Philipp Rugendas) would have become an artist, who should have

outstripped  all  the  other  painters  of  horses  and  battles ,

if he would have lived under better circumstances, e. g. living in the Low Countries about 1650. ”

Thematically there are the horse battles and their more quiet surroundings before and after as

the  quite  essential  former  world  of  the  horse ,

driving back the battle scenery itself but much more conveying the realization “that nowhere the scale of expression is fanned out broader than in the electric field between fear of death and joy of life” (Biedermann, Master Drawings of the German Baroque, no. 173) and then

Because nowhere else but in these borderline situations the possibility to design a quite unimaginable variety of movements. From quiet and sovereign up to the unbridled run-off of the horse that became riderless. Inbetween the wide range from natural dash and bridled bravery to which the most exciting race is just a boring event. The often large groups in the foreground echeloned down to just shadowish movements at the horizon. Accordingly the treatment of clouds and surroundings.  How  a theme artistically overwhelmingly has been worked here these clair-obscur engravings by Johann Christian reflect adequately. Without them the great Georg Philipp would not have been so widespreadly celebrated. And

“ by  the  accurate  representation  of  dates  and  places  of  the  origins
(the  clair-obscurs  here  form)  an  important  basis
for  the  reconstruction  of  the  work  of  Georg  Philipp  Rugendas  the  elder ”

(Teuscher).

And as many of the Dutch old masters always reused a marginal repoussoir so here again and again an ownerless helmet lies anywhere.

The printing quality uniformly marvellous, partly still with much plate-dirt inside of the platemarks marking the early states and as desired by the collectors. The platemarks partly a little sharply impressed and providently reinforced in two cases of one corner and one side resp.

The condition equally hereto and to the provenance in general. Partly uniformly slightly browned, here and there also minimally foxed. The most of the leaves with a water-streak at the upper right of the margins or in cases of especially large engravings of those themselves, but only scarcely visible because of the tone of the clair-obscurs themselves. Three tiny repaired marginal defects, the binding a little rubbed. As a whole a thoroughly fine copy of these technically uniquely presented works of one of the

most  fascinating  designer  of  horses  par  excellence ,

and great son of his native town Augsburg. Where already in the next generation with Ridinger worked another true master of highest esteem though the relationship of teacher-pupil not grew beyond the mediation of the techinique of etching (Biedermann, op. cit., p. 338). Furthermore both they were directors of the academy there. And artistically

immortals.

Offer no. 12,223  /  price on request

“ Received the (original Ridinger copper-printing-)plate yesterday. Much Thanks from a satiesfied customer. You are a True Gentleman … All the Best! L… F. ”

(Mr. L. A. F., November 5, 2003)