588 - A. HOFFMANN (*1810) after HOFFMANN (*1776), Portrait of Julius von Voß, after E. T. A. Hoffmann, Etc

A. HOFFMANN (*1810) after HOFFMANN (*1776), Portrait of Julius von Voß, after E. T. A. Hoffmann, Etc August Hoffmann (1810 Elberfeld - 1872 Berlin) after E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776 Königsberg - 1822 Berlin): Portrait of Julius von Voß, after E. T. A. Hoffmann, 19th century, Etching Technique: Etching on Paper Catalogue Raisonné: , 105 Inscription: inscribed at the bottom of the plate: "Muthmaßliches Bild des Julius Voß", inscribed and signed below: "gez v E.T.W. Hoffmann rad v. A. Hoffmann" Date: 19th century Description: This etching by the Düsseldorf-trained graphic artist August Hoffmann reproduces a drawing by E. T. A. Hoffmann, now lost, which he created during his time in Bamberg between 1809 and 1813. Hoffmann met the writer Julius von Voß in Glogau, where he had been transferred due to some unpopular reform proposals in the military. Even though Voß probably enjoyed a dissolute life and a dubious reputation, Hoffmann seems to have felt a spiritual closeness. Like Hoffmann himself, Voss was active in many of the arts, painting, writing and composing. The two met again in Berlin in 1807. However, the drawing itself was only created during a cheerful evening in Bamberg with the publisher and friend Carl Friedrich Kunz, at which Voss' comedy La retraite pour les Dames was read. After the roaring laughter at the obscene humour of this "farce in one act" had subsided, Hoffmann answered Kunz's question about Voss's personality with a quick portrait drawing from memory, hence the addition "presumably". August Hoffmann ultimately created the present etching from that drawing for the five-volume publication E.T.A. Hoffmann's Erzählungen aus seiner letzten Lebensjahren (E.T.A. Hoffmann's Tales from the Last Years of his Life) in 1839. Our copy appears to be a separate print outside of the book edition, which is characterised by a clearer line drawing and still visible engraving samples in the margin. Literature: Ponert, Dietmar Jürgen: E.T.A. Hoffmann - das bildkünstlerische Werk; Petersberg 2012. Cat. Rais. No.: 105. Keywords: 19th century, Romanticism, Portraits, Germany, Size: Paper: 14,3 cm x 10,9 cm (5,6 x 4,3 in), Depiction: 13,7 cm x 9,8 cm (5,4 x 3,9 in) Condition: Very good condition. Condition commensurate with age. Minimally stained.