Ludwig Schnell

A sailing ship sails on a motionless sea towards the setting sun. Scenic mountain ranges line the lonely bay. Schnell’s highly romantic depiction of heroic nature and his leitmotif of a metaphysical longing for faraway places would be inconceivable without the example set by Caspar David Friedrich. The water, scenery and sky are rendered in a delicate, exquisite, meticulous engraving technique which produces a delightful atmospheric effect. 

The author of the work, Ludwig Schnell, a painter and engraver from Hesse, was the pupil and son-in-law of Christian Haldenwang, engraver to the court at Karlsruhe. He engraved mostly vedute and designed printed ephemera. This highly evocative piece is a trial proof before all letters. The engraving is unrecorded in the descriptive literature and of the utmost rarity. 

A very fine, delicate and nuanced impression with the full margins. Minor foxing, some unobtrusive creases, otherwise in very good condition.