Engravings based on the drawings of Johann Ludwig Wernhard Fäsch
Overview
Collection of engravings of 18th-century European actors and actresses based on the miniature drawings of Swiss artist, Johann Ludwig Wernhard Fäsch.
Dates
- Creation: 1769-1773 and undated
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in French and English.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.
Extent
1 linear feet (2 boxes)This collection of engravings, based on the miniature drawings of Johann Ludwig Wernhard Fäsch, includes prints dated from 1769 to 1773, all published in London. Many appear to be from Robert Sayer and John Smith's Dramatic characters, or different portraits of the English stage. Other London firms involved in either printing or publishing include Marty, Laurie & Whittle, and Jefferys & Faden. Many engravings are hand-colored and some are in black ink only.
Subjects of the engravings are actors and actresses in various roles from the Comédie-Française, Comédie-Italienne (Paris, France), and other companies, including theaters in London. Actors and actresses depicted include: Brizard, Mlle Dumesnil, Garrick, Lekain, Molé, Préville, and many others.
Biographical / Historical
Fäsch was a Swiss painter, illustrator, miniaturist, and portraitist, born in Basel circa 1738 and died in Paris in 1778. Fäsch studied law but soon became a painter. He later moved to Paris and also completed portraits in London. He was known under a number of names including: Jean Louis Fesch and Johann Ludwig Wernhard Faesch, as well as de Fesch, Foech, and Foesch. Fäsch is the first artist to be said with certainty to have drawn his subjects directly from actual performance. Fäsch's work was published as engravings by various London firms.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by title of print.
Physical Location
b
Immediate Source of Acquisition
No accession number. Source and date unknown.
Processing Information
Processed by: Bonnie B. Salt
- Title
- Fäsch, Johann Ludwig Wernhard, circa 1738-1778, artist. Engravings based on the drawings of Johann Ludwig Wernhard Fäsch, 1769-1773: Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou02133
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
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