Immortal  Prince  Eugene

Rugendas, Georg Philipp I (1666 Augsburg 1742). Serenissimus Princeps Eugenius Franciscus, Dux Sabaudiae et Pedemontij, Marchio de Saluzzo, Sac. Caes. Maj. Consiliar. Int. Concilij Aulico-Bellici Praeses, Copiarum Caesarear. Dux Supremus et Locumtenens Generalis: S. R. I. Campi Mareschall., aurei Velleris Eques.

Here with marshal’s baton in the outstretched right mounted on a white horse galloping to the right in an just allusively outlined landscape. On the right laterally in the middle distance partly schematic battle scenery. Mezzotint. (1713/14.) Inscribed: Georg Philipp Rugendas inv. et fecit Aug. Vind., otherwise as before. 46.9 x 36.2 cm.

Teuscher 55 – Not in Stillfried + Nagler who both only know the not belonging to version T. 59, see below.

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 (slightly rubbed, two tiny and quite small scrapings resp. on the right in the margin, only minimally recognizable vertical fold from bottom till below the horse’s belly) 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 here and regarding St. 281 (T. 59/Nagler 8) as reproduction.

Pictorially the also otherwise independently worked Eugene rides on that from left to right while he first deviates stylistically from the six leaves truely belonging to by being without cap and using the marshal’s baton as pointer. But even more he figures directly in front of a large accessory of his troups filling the whole oblong format while that of T. 53-58 is limited to deeply set back small partial lateral accessory troups. The subtext additionally in German and printed from own plate. The size with 33 + 5.1 x 27 cm visibly smaller.

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 (T. 58).

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 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  immortal  great  Prince  Eugene ,

the “noble knight” of the song, equally grand as general, statesman and – actively collecting man of the fine arts and sciences as especially in regard of the latter

“ no one (later in austria) equalled Prince E. … And the splendid buildings which Vienna owes to him, his palace in the inner city, and even more the Belvedere are still today monuments of (his) chastened artistic mind …

As statesman though he hold a position as hardly someone else, even Kaunitz not excluded, occupied before and after him …

and there was no one who could present six that wonderful victories as the days of Zenta and Höchstädt, of Turin and Malplaquet, of Peterwardein and Belgrad … for himself …

The real scale for the judgement of Eugene’s greatness though is due to the fact that he was unsurpassed in each of these three directions … and that they were beared by a character … (who) deserves the highest admiration ”

(von Arneth in Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, VI, 406-421).

“ … a great bibliophile, collected since 1712 … a rich library of prince’s editions and splendid volumes of the 17^th century and beautiful French works from the beginning of the 18^th century which he let be bound in rich, coat-of-arms decorated leather volumes (15000 books + 237 manuscripts, today in the Austrian National Library) ”

(Kirchner-Löffler I, 507).

At the start of this life stood the provision to the clergy by Louis XIV at whose court the mother played her role. Because “too short and weak of figure, with unpleasant features”. Then the Turkish threat of the emperor became his fate. Thus supposedly

the  most  noble  one  of  Rugendas’  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. 14,364  /  price on request

Please see the pendant “John Churchill Duke of Marlborough”, too

„ Herzlichen Dank für die sorgfältig verpackten Bände … “

(Herr H. M., 26. Mai 2007)