802 - Unknown (19th), The Robber Johann Karraseck, 1803, Etching

Unknown (19th), The Robber Johann Karraseck, 1803, Etching Unknown (19th century): Portrait of the robber Johann Karraseck, 1803, Etching Technique: Etching on Paper Stamp: Verso Collector's stamp, Lugt no.: 3549. Erhard Oskar Kaps. Leipzig. 20th century, 19th century Inscription: Upper middle dated: "1803". dated at the top centre: "1803" Date: 1803 Description: On 6 August 1800, the so-called "robber chief" Johann Karraseck (1764-1809) was arrested in Seifhennersdorf near Zittau and sentenced to life imprisonment for numerous robberies in 1803. Although he was one of many criminals of his time, a veritable cult of robbers grew up around him, stylising him as a Saxon Robin Hood. All of this belongs in the realm of legend. Theft, violence and murder characterised the life of the robber, who probably led a whole group of criminals. Yet even contemporary sources use him as a symbolic figure of a fad that, right up to the present day, sees the thief, unjustly marginalised by society, as the realiser of a social utopia that was deliberately created as a counter-model to the prevailing conditions. It is obvious that these robber novels for the edification of the educated bourgeoisie must lack any correspondence with reality. However, they are important projection surfaces for articulating a certain discomfort with social reality in the shelter of art. Our graphic work by a skilled but unidentifiable artist is part of this mythologisation of the robber. Comparable in type to a graphic portrait of a scholar, as is frequently encountered around 1800, Karraseck is not characterised as a criminal, but as a person to be venerated. His attributes, comparable to Christ, are his instruments of torture. Keywords: 19th century, Biedermeier, Portraits, Germany, Size: Paper: 23,4 cm x 16,2 cm (9,2 x 6,4 in), Depiction: 22,2 cm x 14,8 cm (8,7 x 5,8 in) Condition: Rather good condition. Minimally stained in the margin, small box pleat upper left. Tiny crease in lower left corner.