128 - Hans Krumper (c. 1570, Weilheim – Munich, 1643), a scrapbook containing 7 sheets of hand-drawn sketches of garden and grotto designs.

Hans Krumper (c. 1570, Weilheim – Munich, 1643), a scrapbook containing 7 sheets of hand-drawn sketches of garden and grotto designs. Ink in gray and brown, with watercolor or gray wash, on handmade paper, some with Württemberg watermarks, historically mounted on handmade paper bearing the “Coat of Arms with Post Horn” watermark. 1626 (1) or (first third of the 17th century). One design is monogrammed and dated “HK (ligature) 1626.” Approx. 15 x 19.5 cm to approx. 29 x 41 cm (format of the scrapbook: 46.5 x 34.5 cm). With scale markings. This scrapbook contains several designs for an expansive garden layout, at least two of which can be attributed to Hans Krumper. The complex was intended to consist of open, grotto-like spaces and covered halls. One sheet shows the view through two rows of arcades made of rusticated ashlars, each supporting a balustrade on either side and connected in the center by a fountain basin. Water is supplied via delicate tendrils, the design of which bears Krumper’s signature style. Another sheet depicts the interior elevations of both arcades with slight variations in the ashlars and the crowning elements. Given the considerable scale of the complex, Dorothea Diemer considers it unlikely that the designs were intended for Maximilian I’s large court garden; rather, they point to an unrealized project or are more likely related to the field of decoration. Bibliography: Dorothea Diemer, “Hans Krumper,” in: Wittelsbach and Bavaria, Vol. II/1, On Faith and Empire: Elector Maximilian I. Contributions to Bavarian History and Art 1573–1657 (ed. Hubert Glaser), Munich 1980, pp. 295ff., cat. no. 164/165, with illustration on plate 58. Provenance: Private collection, Southern Germany. Taxation: subject to margin scheme (VAT: Margin Scheme).