Description

After Nicolas-Henri Tardieu (1674-1749)

Die Lufft – Aër (i.e. The air)

Etching, first third of the 18th century.

Nice proof on laid paper (engraved in reverse of Nicolas-Henri Tardieu’s engraving). This engraving is a counterfeit made in Augsburg of Nicolas-Henri Tardieu’s engraving (1674-1749) after an oil painting by Nicolas Lancret (1690-1743) entitled L’air. Publisher : 1st Wolff excudit Aug. Vind.

Dimensions of the leaf : H. 540 mm x W. 420 mm – Dimensions at the copper plate : H. 420 mm x W. 335 mm.

In the 18th century, the city of Augsburg became the artistic center of Southern Germany. It is one of the main European centers for the publication of engravings. Augsburg has a long tradition in the field of engraving since the 17th century. It so happened that very soon after their publication, the Parisian collections of ornamental engravings, in particular, were forged in Augsburg. They served as a basis for the creation of new plates marked with the Augsburg imprint. In the 18th century, four publishers devoted part of their production to forgery. It included Jeremias Wolff (1663-1724). But this publisher was not satisfied with publishing only forgeries of ornamental engravings, he also produced genre scenes of which our engraving is an example.

Often the name of the engraver is not indicated if he is considered as a simple executor or if his reputation is not high enough. In addition to this information, almost all the engravings published in Augsburg bear in the letter the indication of the place of origin – Augusta Vinde- licum – in the abbreviated form “A. V.” or “Aug. Vind. This mention allows, in the case of counterfeit French works, to know if it is a Parisian original or a simple copy from Augsburg (source: https://www.persee.fr/doc/hista_0992-2059_2007_num_61_1_3198).