Portrait of John van Mahlem
Maker
Johann Nepomuk Strixner
(German, 1782-1855)
Date1837
MediumMezzotint and stipple engraving on tan wove paper mounted on white wove paper
DimensionsPlate: 17 3/16 x 10 13/16 in. (43.7 x 27.5 cm)
Credit LineUniversity Transfer from Max Epstein Archive
Object number1976.145.389
Object TypePrints
On View
Not on viewThe reproductive print publications of the work of Raphael and Albrecht Dürer that Johan Nepomuk Strixner published in Munich in 1804 and 1808, respectively, established his reputation as an engraver and a lithographer of Old Master paintings and drawings. Strixner subsequently participated in a number of large-scale print projects including the reproduction of the most important works in the Bavarian royal painting galleries in Munich and Schleissheim. This activity culminated in 1827 with his dedication to copying in print the newly enlarged medieval and Renaissance painting collection assembled that same year by King Ludwig I of Bavaria for the Alte Pinakothek (Old Painting Gallery) in Munich.
This mezzotint, Portrait of a Man, which is after a 16th-century Dutch oil painting, falls within the period of Strixner’s association with this grand project. It serves as an example of his superior technical abilities. In it, he was able to capture the form and pictorial character of the original painting he reproduced, without turning the engraving into a lifeless copy of the original. This is apparent, for instance, in his concern for the all-important naturalism of the Northern Renaissance original, evidenced in the mezzotint by the depiction of the lifelike fur collar of the sitter and his detailed beard.
This mezzotint, Portrait of a Man, which is after a 16th-century Dutch oil painting, falls within the period of Strixner’s association with this grand project. It serves as an example of his superior technical abilities. In it, he was able to capture the form and pictorial character of the original painting he reproduced, without turning the engraving into a lifeless copy of the original. This is apparent, for instance, in his concern for the all-important naturalism of the Northern Renaissance original, evidenced in the mezzotint by the depiction of the lifelike fur collar of the sitter and his detailed beard.
