1581–1662
Wolfgang Kilian (1581–1662) was a German engraver and member of the illustrious Kilian family of printmakers in Augsburg, whose extraordinarily long career spanned eight decades and produced an estimated 2,300 engravings. Born on May 10, 1581, in Augsburg, Wolfgang was the younger brother of Lucas Kilian, the most celebrated member of the family, yet Wolfgang's productivity and longevity made him equally significant to the Kilian workshop's success and influence. His career exemplifies the transition from late Renaissance through Baroque periods in German printmaking, while his work helped establish Augsburg as one of Europe's major centers of print production and publishing. Like his older brother Lucas, Wolfgang received training from their stepfather Dominicus Custos after their natural father's death, and continued his education in Italy, working in the printing shops of the renowned Sadeler dynasty in Venice, Mantua, and Milan. This Italian experience, combined with the Northern European precision of Augsburg craftsmanship, gave Wolfgang a versatile style capable of handling diverse subjects from portraits to religious imagery to book illustrations. His early career ran parallel to Lucas's more glamorous commissions for nobility and courts, but Wolfgang's true significance emerged after 1621, when he opened his own workshop, and especially after Lucas's death in 1637, when Wolfgang took up his brother's unfinished projects and embarked on a remarkably productive second career. Wolfgang's specialization in book illustrations and thesis prints—elaborate engravings produced for academic dissertations—made him indispensable to Augsburg's scholarly and publishing community. His workshop, staffed by his sons Bartholomaus the Younger and Philipp, functioned as a family enterprise that trained the next generation and maintained the Kilian name's prominence well into the later 17th century. When Wolfgang died in 1662 at approximately 81 years of age, he left behind one of the most substantial bodies of engraved work produced by any single artist, testament to his dedication, skill, and the efficient organization of his workshop.
Wolfgang Kilian was born on May 10, 1581, in Augsburg, the Free Imperial City that served as one of southern Germany's most prosperous commercial and cultural centers. He was the son of Bartholomaus Kilian the Elder, a Silesian goldsmith who had settled in Augsburg, and Maria Pfeiffelmann. His older brother Lucas, born in 1579, would become the most famous member of the Kilian artistic dynasty.
Tragedy struck early when Wolfgang's father died in 1583, leaving the two-year-old Wolfgang and his four-year-old brother Lucas orphaned. Their mother's subsequent marriage to Dominicus Custos (1560–1612), an experienced engraver and publisher from Antwerp, proved fortunate for the boys' artistic futures. Custos operated a professional workshop and provided both brothers with thorough training in copper engraving techniques.
Under Custos's guidance, Wolfgang learned the fundamental skills of the engraver's craft: the precise manipulation of the burin to incise lines into copper plates, understanding of how different line patterns would print, and the business practices of print production and distribution. The workshop environment gave him practical experience in all aspects of the trade.
Following his initial training in Augsburg, Wolfgang traveled to Italy between 1604 and 1608 to continue his artistic education. He worked in Venice, Mantua, and Milan, spending time in the printing shop of Giusto (Justus) Sadeler, a member of the internationally acclaimed Sadeler dynasty of engravers. The Sadelers were among Europe's finest printmakers, and this apprenticeship exposed Wolfgang to the highest standards of engraving technique and sophisticated Italian compositional approaches.
This Italian sojourn was formative, exposing Wolfgang to the artistic achievements of the Italian Renaissance and early Baroque while teaching him the collaborative processes of major print workshops. The experience of working in Sadeler's shop showed how large workshops could organize production, manage multiple projects simultaneously, and maintain consistent quality across numerous commissions.
Wolfgang returned to Augsburg around 1608 and married, establishing himself within the city's artistic and social community. Initially, he worked within or in close association with the family workshop, collaborating with his brother Lucas, who by this time had established himself as one of Germany's most celebrated engravers.
During these years, Wolfgang developed his skills across various types of engraving work. While Lucas focused on elaborate portrait engravings with allegorical frames and commissions for nobility, Wolfgang took on a broader range of projects, including religious subjects, book illustrations, and commercial printing work.
The division of labor between the brothers appears to have been complementary rather than competitive. Lucas's reputation brought commissions to the family workshop that generated work for Wolfgang as well. The Kilian name became synonymous with quality engraving in Augsburg, and both brothers benefited from this reputation.
Wolfgang's technical development during this period prepared him for the independent career he would launch in his forties. He mastered the various styles and subjects required by the print market: religious imagery for churches and private devotion, portraits for commemorative purposes, decorative prints for collectors, and illustrations for the thriving book publishing industry.
In 1621, at age 40, Wolfgang opened his own workshop, establishing it just a few houses from his brother Lucas's home near Augsburg Cathedral. This proximity facilitated continued collaboration while allowing Wolfgang independent operation and direct relationships with clients and publishers.
Wolfgang's sons, Bartholomaus the Younger and Philipp, worked with him on the printing press, creating a true family enterprise. This multi-generational workshop structure was typical of successful artistic businesses in early modern Europe, ensuring continuity of skills and standards while providing reliable labor.
During this period of mature productivity, Wolfgang developed his particular expertise in thesis prints—elaborate engravings created for academic dissertations. In the 17th century, doctoral candidates at universities often commissioned decorative title pages or frontispieces for their printed theses. These prints combined allegorical imagery, portraits, coats of arms, and decorative elements, requiring exactly the kind of versatile engraving skills Wolfgang had developed.
Augsburg's position as a major publishing center created steady demand for book illustrations. Wolfgang produced frontispieces, title pages, and illustrations for numerous publications, working with Augsburg's printers and publishers. This work, while perhaps less glamorous than portrait commissions for nobility, was economically important and technically demanding.
His reputation for reliability, technical skill, and efficient production made him a preferred choice for publishers who needed quality work delivered on schedule. The workshop's capacity to handle multiple projects simultaneously, thanks to the labor of his sons and possibly additional assistants, gave Wolfgang competitive advantages in the market.
When Lucas Kilian died in 1637, Wolfgang, then 56 years old, took up some of his brother's unfinished projects. This marked the beginning of what might be considered Wolfgang's second career—a period of extraordinary productivity that would last another quarter-century.
Wolfgang embarked on what contemporaries and later scholars described as a second career specializing in book illustrations and thesis prints. His experience, refined technique, and efficient workshop organization allowed him to produce work at a remarkable rate. The estimated 2,300 known engravings by Wolfgang testify to this sustained productivity.
The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), which devastated much of Germany, affected Augsburg but did not stop Wolfgang's production. The city's status as a Free Imperial City and its mixed Catholic and Protestant population gave it some protection from the worst devastations, though economic disruption was inevitable. Wolfgang's focus on book illustration and thesis prints for the scholarly community may have provided more stable income than reliance on luxury portrait commissions during wartime.
Wolfgang continued working into advanced old age. His sustained productivity into his seventies demonstrates not only remarkable personal vitality but also the support of his workshop structure. His sons could handle physically demanding aspects of the work—preparing plates, pulling prints, managing business affairs—while Wolfgang concentrated on the actual engraving where his decades of experience and refined skill were most valuable.
Wolfgang Kilian died in 1662 at approximately 81 years of age, having worked as an engraver for nearly six decades. His sons Bartholomaus the Younger and Philipp carried on the family tradition, maintaining the Kilian workshop's prominence in Augsburg printmaking into the later 17th century.
Artheon Research Team
Last updated: 2025-11-09
Biography length: ~1,487 words
