The  Great  Marlborough

Rugendas, Georg Philipp I (1666 Augsburg 1742). Serenissimus Princeps, Iohannes, S. R. I. Princeps Mindelheimensis, Dux et Comes de Marlborough, Marchio de Blanfort, Baro de Churchille, de Aymond et Sandridge, Ordinis Periscelidis, etc.

Here with the marshal’s baton in the stretched out right and the sword at the left galloping to the left in meagre landscape. On the lateral left in the middle distance little fighting horsemen accessories, even more in the background building. Mezzotint. (1713/14.) Inscribed: Georg Philipp Rugendas inv. et fec. Aug. V. otherwise as before. 46.9 x 36.2 cm.

Teuscher 58; Stillfried 282; Nagler 10. – Pen-and-ink drawing with wash in the same direction, 428 x 370 mm, in the Witt Collection of the Courtauld Institute Galleries in London.

Qualified by prepossession in the portrait collection of von Roemer father + son originating in the beginning of the 19^th century that in 1871 devolved upon today’s Museum of the Fine Arts Leipsic and was sold by this in 1924 obviously completely (not only the duplicates as Lugt notes; see auction sale Boerner 142). Recto lower right its collection stamp “(Municipal Museum at Leipsic)” (Lugt 1669e), on the back the removal stamp “(Disposed by Museum of the Fine Arts Leipsic)” (L. 1669f).

Trimmed close to the platemark, in places on this itself and on the right on 3.5 cm on picture edge. – Mounted by old on laid paper whose margins have been laminated on the front frame-like with grey-blueish paper. The image itself braid with black surrounding line.

Very fine, nuance-rich impression of rich chiaroscuro and adequate condition to the

by the great Rugendas himself. Complete here not provable in literature anymore Andrea Teuscher states per no. 56 “c. 8 ll.” though she can describe six only (53-58). For the one she carries as 59 as “additional leaf” belongs neither stylistically nor in regard of size and subtext to the set, would even be a repetition of the set-conforming portrait of Eugene here. Insofar she follows Stillfried’s error who incorporated it per 281 into the set not knowing it as Nagler neither. Also her quotation of Boerner there is unfounded as equally referring to 55 and regarding St. 281 (T. 59/Nagler 8) as reproduction. See on all this no. 14,364 here.

In fact, too, the original set should be complete with the six leaves T. 53-58 as it – obviously as the one and only copy! – figured in the aforesaid Boerner sale “Collection of Engravings by Old Masters of the XV^th-XVIII^th Century” as lot 1670 as follows :

Ergo the inbetween dissolved copy von Roemer from the Leipsic Museum to which positions 14,363 + 14,364 here, T. 55 + 58, belonged. Whereby here

at  present  no  complete  copy  is  known  to  literature .

For its proof by Teuscher is now cut into pieces in the light of the above appendix here. And both the further copies in Coburg + Dresden called in there miss that of the Duke of Marlborough here (T. 58), temporary Prince of Mindelheim.

Five each Nagler described as single plates and Count Stillfried possessd resp. Both note instead of the true Eugene its reproduction only (N. 8). Thus it should be one and the same copy that Nagler as antiquarian left to his customer. In Augsburg by the way with T. 54 one single leaf of the set only!

That these should be appended by Nagler 7 “Charles XII mounted on horseback with the sword in his hand as he drives the enemies ahead, one of the chief works of the master” as remained unknown to Teuscher seems to be unlikely by stylistic regards though, analogous to T. 53-58 (but not to T. 59!), also described by Nagler as “large folio”. For none of the six confirmed leaves of the set shows a general in contact with the enemy as mentioned for Charles XII as their contemporary. The latter then by the way as the one and only of these large prince leaves among the 27,600 lots of parts I-XXVIII of Weigel’s Art Stock Catalogue (1838/57). Not one concerning T. 53-58! Their, and thereby of the one here, too,

rarity  thus  simply  superb !

And this not only because of special circumstances on the market but generally. Already in 1675 the expert von Sandrart numbered “clean prints” of the velvety mezzotint manner at only c. “50 or 60” (!). “Soon after (the picture) grinds off for it not goes deeply into the copper.” Correspondingly Thienemann in 1856 at the example of Ridinger :

“ The mezzotints are almost not to be acquired on the market anymore …
and the by far larger part (of them) … (I have) only found (in the printroom) at Dresden. ”

Not even there then the older’s Georg Philipp large set of the “Princes on Horseback” as a whole, to which later the equal-named son let follow an own though with 34 x 22 cm visibly smaller one of which Teuscher knows five leaves (429-433) with which T. 59 also not harmonizes. For the time of origin of the large ones by the father T. 53 sees as terminus post quem 1713 as only in that year his Frederick William (I) succeeded as king of Prussia. Since on the other hand Marlborough here still figures as Princeps Mindelheimensis what became obsolete in 1714 the origin may be seen accordingly narrow.

While Nagler (1845) does not regard Rugendas as a “great Master in mezzotint” whose “compositions (were) designed full of life and always with genius though” – their first states should carry his “inv. et fec.” as here (later addresses not known here in this connection) or the address of Jeremias Wolff – Gode Krämer (1998) stresses the

“ technique  of  mezzotint  masterly  commanded  by  him ”

and qualifies him as “a that excellent etcher and mezzotint artist” who “in regard of Augsburg early made the mezzotint his own and introduced a new variant with the combiation of the techniques of mezzotint and etching by the outline etching” (in Björn R. Kommer, ed., Rugendas / Eine Künstlerfamilie in Wandel und Tradition / Catalogue to the exhibition 1998, pp. 8 f.).

The theme of the plate here though is for no one less than

the  “ famous  British  general  and  statesman
JOHN  CHURCHILL  DUKE  OF  MARLBOROUGH ” ,

the great ally of Prince Eugene

– “ who  converted  him  to  a  book-collector .
He is the founder of Blenheim Library ” –

against France whom after proscribing the Bavarian elector the emperor enfeoffed with the dominion Mindelheim concurrently raised to principality in 1706, which he nevertheless lost in the Peace of Rastatt of 1714 (not already 1713 in that one of Utrecht made between the allies and France only) without compensation.

“ M. was an equally dexterous diplomat … as a brilliant general who combined personal courage with a sure and fast look that spotted every mistake of the enemy and knew to use. His dark sides were immoderate ambition and low greediness ”

(Meyers Konversations-Lexikon 4^th ed. XI, 263 ff. and, on Mindelheim, 644).

The latter thus played a central background role in Eugène Scribe’s (1791-1861) “A Glass of Water”, unforgettable by Helmuth Käutner’s screen adaptation with Gustav Gründgens + Hilde Krahl (Lady Churchill) as antagonists in the leading rôles. Here, however, flawless, as one

of   Rugendas’  noble  six  “ Princes  on  Horseback ” ,

as an equestrian portrait whose

monumental  brilliancy

confirms whereupon the elder Georg Philipp Rugendas was “a first rate talent beyond doubt, for not to say a genius. Doubtless, set into better circumstances, e. g. living in the Netherlands about 1650, he would have become an artist who

would  have  surpassed  all  his  horse  and  battle  competitors ”

(Wilhelm Schmidt 1889 in Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, XXIX, 600).
Offer no. 14,363  /  price on request

Please see the pendant “Prince Eugene of Savoy” , too

“ Thank you Mr. Niemeyer, The prints (you are delivered two weeks ago) are being framed right now. My framer is very particular (works for the National Gallery … ) and I am having a perfect frame made for the large Ridinger (the imperial stag hunt Th. 67). Best regards ”

(Mr. J. R. L., November 19, 2003)