Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich’s etching, “The Hermitage between Rocks”, 1743

Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich (aka Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietricy) (1712–1774)

“The Hermitage between Rocks” (aka “Die Einsiedelei zwischen Felsen”; “Landschap met kluizenaarswoning” “Landscape with Hermitage”), 1743.

Etching on fine laid paper with a narrow margin around the platemark and image borderline. Verso has two collectors’ marks: Lugt no. 492 (p. 90) and another not described in Lugt.

Size: (sheet) 9.8 x 14.7 cm; (platemark faint); (image borderline) 8.6 x 13.7 cm.

Inscribed in plate: (upper left corner) “D. 1743.”; (upper right edge in sky near tree) “44”.

State iii (of iv) with the addition of the number “44” at upper right next to tree branches and before this number is erased in the fourth state.

Linck 145 (J F Linck 1846, “Monographie der von dem vormals K. Poln. und Churfürstl. Sächs. Hofmaler und Professor etc. C. W. E. Dietrich radirten, geschabten und in Holz geschnittenen . Abrisse der Lebensgeschichte des Künstlers”, Berlin, pp. 237–38, cat. no. 145).

J F Linck (1846) offers the following description of this print: (transl.) “Under large, only partially overgrown rocks, almost in the middle of the page, you can see a hermit's hut, in front of which a saint's house and a large wooden cross are erected. Smoke can be seen rising from the chimney of the hermitage. Further to the right, a depression under the rock appears to form the entrance to a cave. On the left you can see a large waterfall and distant mountains above it” (pp. 237-38).

The Rijksmuseum and the British Museum offer descriptions of this print in its second state: http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.105703; https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1855-0609-40.

Condition: a strong and well-printed impression trimmed with a small margin around the image borderline. Verso has remnants of mounting, ink collectors’ stamps and pencil notations. The sheet has minor age-toning and is a good condition with no tears, holes, folds or significant stains.

I am selling this curiously interesting small etching showing the humble dwelling of a hermit with a crudely erected cross and a wayside shrine symbolically announcing the owners’ ascetic retreat from everyday life—note that the interest in showing such simple hermitages meshed well with the leaning (especially in Germany) for valuing the landscape as a place of solace and regeneration with (arguably) female hermits choosing their abodes closer to town than male hermits—for AU$246 in total (currently US$161.55/EUR148.22/GBP127.33 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this luminous etching of a hermitage tucked into a rocky outcrop with a waterfall and stream at left and a forest at right, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.