Johann Wilhelm Weinmann Set of Four Gourds 1737 - Set of 4

Description

Set of 4 double-page mezzotint engravings, printed in colour and finished by hand.
[Published: H. Lentz and H.G. Neubauer, Regensburg, … more Set of 4 double-page mezzotint engravings, printed in colour and finished by hand.
[Published: H. Lentz and H.G. Neubauer, Regensburg, 1737].

An attractive collection of fine plates, being one of the earliest examples of colour printing.

Weinmann (1683-1741) was a Regensburg apothecary who organized the publication of Phytanthoza Iconographia, a huge florilegum which was not only very beautiful but which also influenced the publication of similar works worldwide. “The mezzotint process used here had been invented by Johann Teyler in the Netherlands around 1688.

As practiced here by Bartholomaus Seuter (1678-1754) and Johann Elias Ridinger (1698-1767), it was really a combination of etching and mezzotint, which made possible delicate lines and a very fine grain. The addition of hand-tinting brought about unusual and subtle effects” (Hunt). less