Johann Philipp Jöndl, Bohemian Architect, Antique Lithograph, circa 1840

About this sheet

An original antique lithograph portrait of the Prague architect Johann Philipp Jöndl, issued as number one of the Portraits Gallerie der böhmischen Zeitgenossen, a portrait gallery of Bohemian contemporaries published by C. Henning in Prague and Berlin around 1840.

Jöndl is shown at half length, turned to the left, with a crown of curling gray hair, a lined, alert face and his arms folded across his chest. He wears a dark high collared coat over a light waistcoat and a black stock. The drawing on the stone is soft and granular, with the figure vignetted into the white of the sheet, so that the print has the look of a chalk drawing.

Beneath the portrait is a large facsimile signature with elaborate flourishes, "J. P. Jöndl", followed by his title as a building official. The imprint "C. Henning's Verlag, Prag u. Berlin" is printed below, and the lower left corner carries the series line "Portraits Gallerie der böhmischen Zeitgenossen, No. 1."

Johann Philipp Jöndl (1782 to 1870) was born in Prague and became one of the leading architects and garden designers of Bohemia in the first half of the nineteenth century. He worked in the classical and Greek Revival manner, his name is associated with the chateau of Kačina, and he wrote on building technique. To be chosen as the first sitter of a series devoted to notable living Bohemians says much about his standing in Prague at the time.

A distinguished portrait for collectors of architecture, of Prague and Bohemian history, or of early lithography.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.