Young Officer with Aiguillette and Orders, Lithograph by G. Engelbach, 1844
€ 175
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1844
Mapmaker / artist
G. Engelbach (artist and lithographer, signed in the stone)
Publisher
Not named on the sheet
Technique
Lithograph
Coloring
Uncolored
Sheet size
23 × 19 cm (9.1 × 7.5 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14343-29
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Good condition for its age. A few small spots to the upper margin; a small pale stain just below the image at lower left; faint pencil note in the lower margin. Please review the images for further condition details.
About this sheet
An original lithographed portrait of a young officer in uniform, signed in the stone "G. Engelbach" and dated 1844 at lower right. The sitter is not named on the sheet, and the portrait is offered for the quality of the drawing and the character of the face.
The officer is shown half length, turned slightly to the left and looking straight at the viewer, with thick wavy hair, a long curled mustache and a firm, direct expression. He wears a dark uniform coat with a high braided collar and a row of buttons down the front, a heavy braided aiguillette looped from the right shoulder across the chest, a white Maltese cross on a ribbon at the collar and two further orders pinned to the breast. The figure is set against a softly shaded oval of crayon work that fades into the plain paper.
G. Engelbach, recorded as the lithographer Georg Engelbach of Berlin, drew the likeness directly on the stone in a fine crayon manner, so that the print keeps the softness of a chalk drawing in the face and hair while the braid and orders are picked out in crisp highlights. Lithography had become the favorite medium for the portrait print in the German speaking lands by the 1840s, and portraits of officers, officials and private citizens were drawn in this way for families, comrades and admirers.
The dated signature places the portrait precisely, which is unusual for an unnamed likeness, and the uniform and decorations make it an attractive document of military dress in the years before 1848. It is a strong, large image that would frame well for a study, a library or a collection of military portraits.
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.
