Carl Heinrich Rahl

1779 Hoffenheim – 1843 Vienna

Carl Heinrich Rahl, who had taught himself to draw and make prints, went to Vienna in 1799 to hone his artistic skills. In the early years he earned a living by doing odd jobs; his contact with Wächter exerted a positive influence on his art. Rahl soon made a name for himself as a reproductive engraver and his first works after Wächter were deemed by Nagler to be his most successful artistic achievements. Typical features of his engravings are their narrative concentration and a boldly reduced form, which dispenses with any genrelike, anecdotal embellishments; the figures convey a statuesque monumentality and tranquillity that appear astonishingly modern and evocative to contemporary observers.