Artist: Hans Holbein the Younger (Germany, 1497/8 - 1543) is considered one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also produced religious art, satire, and Reformation propaganda, and he made a significant contribution to the history of book design. Holbein made ink drawings to margins of the personal copy of 1515/16 edition of 'The Praise of Folly' by Erasmus, after.
Intermediary engraver: Caspar Merian (German, 1627-1686), engraver and publisher, active in Frankfurt, after.
Engraver: possibly, Heitz (?) signed in Pallas's Birth plate. A Divine, unsigned. Attributed to Johann Gottlieb Friedrich Unger (Germany, 1755-1804), wood-engraver. He published works by Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, August and Friedrich Schlegel, etc. There are identical engravings in our collection (i.e. WOP-734/WB-3) from the same edition signed by Unger.
Title: Pallas's Birth. A Divine. Two illustrations from 'The Praise of Folly' by Erasmus.
Titled, Dated, and Signed in plate: Heitz. Collector's stamp AU in ink in Gothic script verso (not in Lugt).
Dimensions: 2 1/4" x 2 5/8"; 2 3/8" x 2 5/8". Sheet 4 1/2" x 2 5/8".
Publisher: possibly, Johann Gottlieb Friedrich Unger (Germany, 1755-1804).
Date: Late XVIII C.
Materials and Techniques: two woodcuts on paper, pasted to one support paper sheet.
Provenance:
- Collection AU.
- The Estate of George "Yorgo" Demetrakopoulos; professor, assistant director of the Medieval Institute, and assistant to the dean at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, from 1965-2000.
Condition: Laid down. The signs of aging are appropriate for the time. A detailed condition report is available on demand.
Art Movements, Periods & Schools: German School XVI C. German School XVIII C.
Note: This entry incorporates text from Wikipedia and the catalog entry of a similar item from the British Museum collection.