signed and dated ‘HSL 1553’ (in the plate) and with inscription ‘HS Lautensack/ PN 36. Dp/
23 102’ (graphite, verso)
etching
11.3 x 17.1 cm
Bartsch 35; Schmitt 56 [1]; Hollstein 26 [2], first and only state
A good impression of this rare print, printing somewhat uneven and dry under the bridge,
trimmed within the platemark, but outside of the image, the paper is in generally good
condition

Provenance:
Baron Hans Albrecht von Derschau (1755-1824), Nuremberg (L. 2510).
Kupferstichsammlung der Königlichen Museen, Berlin (L. 1606, 234 and 2922).
Rudolf Philip von Goldschmidt (1840-1914), Berlin (L. 2926); F.A.C. Prestel, Frankfurt am
Main, 4-11 October 1917, lot 792 (‘Sehr schooner Abdruck mit kleinem Rändchen um die
darstellung’).
Unknown collector’s mark (L. 3526).

The artists belonging to the first generation of the so-called ‘Danube School’ – led by Albrecht Altdorfer (1480-1538) and Wolf Huber (1485-1553) – were amongst the first European artists to take major inspiration from nature, producing some of the earliest pure landscape prints and drawings. Their works often prominently featuring pine trees with abundant mosses hanging from their branches combined with rocky-mountains in the background as well as the occasional bridge and hilltop castle. A second generation of artists continued this tradition, with Hans Sebald Lautensack generally regarded as one of its
leading figures.

Like the prints, drawings and paintings by Altdorfer and Huber, Lautensack’s landscape engravings typically show panoramic landscapes with dramatic rock formations, pine trees, wooden houses and fanciful castles. [3] Lee Hendrix’s observation about the landscape drawings of Huber and Altdorfer applies equally well to Lautensack’s prints;

‘Yet despite the superhuman dimensions of the subject matter, the images themselves
generally tend to be quite small, often taking the form of drawings made as finished works
of art. With their intricate, highly wrought surfaces, they must have been collected as objects for private contemplation and delectation.’ [4]

[1] A. Schmitt, 'Nürnberger Forschungen. IV. Band', Nuremberg, 1957, p. 89.
[2] F. Anzelewsky and R. Zijlma, 'Hollstein’s German Engravings, Etchings and Woodcuts. Volume XXI. Georg Lang to Hans Leinberger', Amsterdam, 1978, p. 68.
[3] For more on Lautensack as a printmaker, see: F. Spira, ‘Expanding Discourses in German Etching: Albrecht Altdorfer and His Legacy’, in The Renaissance of Etching, exhib. cat., New York, The Metropolitan Mseum of Art, 2019-2020, pp. 93-105.
[4] L. Hendrix, ‘A New Drawing by Hanns Lautensack’, The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal, 1989, vol. 17, p. 21.
The present etching is a characteristic example of the Lautensack’s printed œuvre and
comes with a notable provenance; it was owned by Baron Hans Albrecht von Derschau, the
Kupferstichsammlung der Königlichen Museen, Berlin and later by the great collector Rudolf
Philip von Goldschmidt.