GERMAN SCHOOL OF ENGRAVING. 



I,ing'll)ac»!, Backhuyfen, and Jean Henry Roo», alfo per- 

 formed lome meritwiovis etchings in Germany about this 

 time. Tlie animals of the latter are much celebrated, and 

 among his beft plates may be reckoned a fct of twelve, ot 

 " Domeitie. Animals," in 4to. A pair of " Grand Land- 

 fcapes."' adornjd with cattle and ruined buildnigii, and " Un 

 Berger endormi au pied, &c." He was born at Otterdorf, 

 in the Palatinate, in 163 1, and died at Frankfort in 168 1, and 

 his malters were .Tvilian Jardeyn, and Adrian de Bie. 



The family of the Wolfgangs contributed but little to 

 the advancement of engraving : we therefore pafs tlicm briefly. 

 George Andrea Wolfgang was originally a goldfmith and 

 engraver on the precious metals, but afterwards lludied eii- 

 rraving on copper under Mattliew Keefcll, and fcraped fome 

 few me^/otintos. He was born at Chemnit/, in Saxony, 

 A. D. 1631, and died at Aiiglburg in 1716. The bell 

 engravings of George Andrea are tlie portraits of George 

 Fredericrmarg/aveof Brandenberg, after C. Zierl, in folio, 

 !tnd Pii>rre Mnller, Juriconfulti, in 410. And, in hiftory, 

 " A Grand Sicritioe to Diana," after A. Schoenfeld, and 

 « Saul confulting the Gholl of Samuel/' after Jof. Wernc-r, 

 both of the fuiio fi^e. 



Andrea Mattliew, the fon of George Andrea Wolfgang, 

 was born at Augfcurg in the year 1662, and died in the fame 

 city in 1735. He ftudied the elements of deiign under the 

 direftion of his father ; but embarking for England with liis 

 brother, prefumptively at fome port in the Mediterranean 

 foa, they were intercepted by an Algcrine corfair, and car- 

 ried isto captivity. On their liberation, which was in coiife- 

 quenee of a raiifom paid by their father, they both returned 

 to Augfljurg, where Andre Matthew fettled, and began to 

 engrave portraits : he alfo engraved a print of " Tiie Court 

 of Algirs," in which he lias reprefeuted himfelf as a (lave. 



His beft portraits are thofe of George Andre, his father, 

 and Nicolaus Nuremberger, both in 4to., and in folio, John 

 George Buttner, bifhop of Frankfort, and Chriflopher Rad. 

 In mez/.otinto he has engraven Charles VI., king of the 

 Romans. But, perhaps, his very beft performance is a por- 

 trait of the margrave of Anfpach. 



His younger brother, Jean George Wolfgang, was born 

 in 1664, received tlie fame inftruftions as Andrea Matthien, 

 and fooii after their refeafe from captivity travelled to Berlin, 

 and in i 704 became engraver to the court. He engraved 

 and publiflied there a great number of portraits, among 

 vhich that of the elettor Frederick William,, after Jacobi's 

 equellrian llatue in bronze, is defervedly held i;i moll efteein, 

 though, in moll of liis portraits, the fleOi is executed with 

 delicacy, and Jem George is, on the whole, as an artiil, the 

 flower of the Wolfgang family. He died at Berlin in the 

 year 1704. 



Gullavus Andrea Wolfgang was the fon of Andrea 

 Matthien. He was born at i^ugfburg in the year 1692, 

 and, after ftudying portrait engraving and miniature painting 

 under his father tor a time, followed his uncle to Berhn, 

 ♦■here he remained for many years, but returned finally to 

 his native country, where he died in tlie year 176$. 



His beft portraits, of which the flelh is engraved chiefly 

 in dots, are thofe of M. Fr^iiKjois Reyter, admiral pour 

 J'Armee navale Angloiie en Afriquc. Wolf^angus Jacobus 

 Suiter, Reipublicac .\uguftaiicc Deci mvir, after G. Eichler, 

 and Carl. Freyher von Stien ; in fmall folio. 



Jean Jacques Tluirneifen, or Thouriieyien, was born in 

 the year 1636 at Bade, in Switzerland, and died in tlie fame 

 city in 17 iS. After having learned to draw in his ow« 

 country, he went to Stralbourg to Itudy engraving under 

 Pierre Aubry, wlu;re he remained about three years, and 

 removed luccelfively to Lyons, and to the court of Turin. 



In 1695, he returned to Vienna, accompanied by Lis fons ; 

 and his great merit, which was called by his rivals his 

 fuperior fortune, obtained for him the patronage of the 

 emperor Leopold. He was now the objedl ol envy to the 

 artifts of Augft)urg, where he continued to refide for ' 

 fome years ; but as age approached, he wiflied to fee again his 

 native land, and departed for Balle in the year 1699, 

 where, as we have already faid, he liniflied his career. 



Thourneyfen was a man of a robuft frame, vigorous 

 mental powers, and extreme profeffionaJ ailiduity. His mo- 

 iKigram will be found in our third plate of thofe of the Ger- 

 man fchool. Among the engravings he performed, thofe 

 which are executed witli a fmgle llroke or fpiral, in imita- 

 tion of Mellan, have been molt admired, though, perhaps, 

 not moft jullly. He alfo occafionally imitated the fquare 

 croffings of F. de Poilly. 



His fon, Jean Jacques the younger, worked in imitation 

 of his fatlier, but was lefs fuccelsful. The beft engravings 

 by Thourneyfen the elder are, the portraits of Laurentms 

 Scotus, after Luc Damaret, dated 1 661. Francois Tur- 

 retein, after P. Hand. Petrus Weienfelfius, profeflbr in 

 the academy of Bade, after L. F. Wetllein, engraved of 

 the folio fize, (by the Thourneylens, fatiier and fon,) in' 

 1702. 



Of his hiftorical works, our allotted fpacc only allows 

 us to mention " The Virgin Mary, Infant Glirift, 

 and St. John," in a circle, after Carl. Dauphin, a folio 

 plate, engraved in the fafliionable ftyle of Mellan. *' An 

 Infant Chritt," after Blanchet, in 410. " La Bilancia PoIitJca 

 del Boccalini.' Two large folio plates of " Grand Thefes 

 in Philofophy," in which whole length portraits of the 

 princes palatine of Neubourg are introduced, and the 

 ftatues of Laocoon, Antinous, and Latona, in the ftyle o£ 

 Mellan, for Sandrart's academy. 



Fran5ois Ertinger was born at Wyl, in Suabia, A. D. 

 1640, travelled to Italy for improvement, but died at Paris 

 in the year 1700. As an engraver, neither his judgment 

 nor his tafte ranks very high; but the following lift of his 

 beft works will fhew that the fubjedls of his prints at lealt 

 were fometimes wifely chofen. 



A fet of eight plates, after Rubens, from the Hiftory 

 of Achilles. " The Marriage of Cana in Galilee," a large 

 folio, after Raymond le Fagi A fet of ten, from tlie 

 fame mafter of the Hillory of the Counts of Thoulout-. 

 A large folio, of a Bacchanalian fubjeft after N. Pouflin ; 

 and the portraits of Nicholas Machiavel of Florence, the 

 celebrated political philofopher, in 8vo. Gabriel d.e 

 Pinaco, .Tureconfulti ; and Jean Ferdinand de Beughem, 

 bifliop of Aiivers, after F. de Cock ; both in folio. 



Gerard LaireflTe was born at Liege in the year 1640, and 

 died at Amfterdam in 171 1. He was inliruftcd by hi* 

 father, Regnier, in the rudiments of art. For an account 

 of his merit as a painter, fee the article Lairesse. He 

 etched a vaft number of plates, from his own compofitions 

 with great freedom, and the fearlefs hand of a painter who 

 has other objects in view than the graces or blandiftiments 

 of manual execution. His chiarofcuro is broad and power- 

 ful, and fo contrived as to condudl the eye of a fpeftator at 

 once to the principal objcdls in the coropofition. 



The major part of his deiign s were engraven by himfelf, 

 and, as Baian obierves, are highly efteemed by connoi/feurs, 

 and exceedingly ufeful to itudents in art. 



The portrait of Laiieffe, in folio, lurrounded by emble- 

 matical ornaments, has been engraven by N. Vificher. 



The moil efteemed of his own engravings are, " The 

 Sin of our firft Parents," and " Adam and Eve expelled 

 from Paradife," a pair in folio. A rich compofition of 



♦■ Jolepfe 



