Portret van Gustav Schwab
1844
Medium
steel engraving
Dimensions
181; 120
About this artwork
height 181 mm x width 120 mm
Art Historical Context
This steel engraving by Karl Barth, dated 1844, offers a portrait of Gustav Schwab a compact format measuring 181 by 120 millimeters. Created during a time when printed images were gaining wider circulation, the work reflects the 19th-century fascination with preserving the likenesses of notable contemporaries through accessible reproductive media. Steel engraving was prized in this period for its strength and capacity to render fine lines with remarkable precision and durability. Unlike earlier copper plates, steel allowed for thousands of impressions without rapid wear, making portraits lik...
About the Artist
Karl Barth · 1787–1853
Karl Barth (also known as Carl Barth or Johann Carl Barth, 1787–1853) was a versatile German artist who worked as a copperplate engraver, draughtsman, painter, illustrator, and portrait engraver during the late eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth centuries. Born in Eisfeld in the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen and dying in Kassel, Barth exemplified the multi-talented artist-craftsman of the Roman...