474 - G. KILIAN (*1709) after KILIAN (*1683), self-portrait, Mezzotint

G. KILIAN (*1709) after KILIAN (*1683), self-portrait, Mezzotint Georg Christoph Kilian (1709 Augsburg - 1781 ibid.) after Georg Kilian (1683 Augsburg - 1745 ibid.): Self-portrait, 18th century, Mezzotint Technique: Mezzotint on Paper, mounted on Paper Inscription: Inscribed, signed and dated below the image in the printing plate: "Georgius Kilianus | Augustanus | Pictor et Sculptor Artis nigræ |: sic dictæ :| Propagator bonarum Artium Progenitorum nat. 1683. denat. 1745. | Se ipse pinxit 1744. Filius Georg. Christ. Kilian. in Honorem Ejus sculpsit 1769." Date: 18th century Description: After a self-portrait by Georg Kilian (1683 Augsburg - 1745 ibid.), Georg Christoph Kilian engraved the portrait here as a mezzotint in memory of his late father. As a bust portrait with the head turned to the right into a half-profile, it shows not only the father but also a member of the great Kilian dynasty of artists. The members of the Kilian family of engravers had been resident in Augsburg since the 16th century and had made a name for themselves in the artistic craft there over generations. So it is hardly surprising that here the son set up a memorial to his father by creating this successful mezzotint etching, which is hardly inferior to the original in its painterly effect. It is even less surprising that the young Kilian cut the portrait into copper after a self-portrait of his father, whose trained artistic sense was thus able to dictate in the best manner what his own portrait should look like. Keywords: Self-portrait, Artist, Father, Family, 18th century, Classicism, Portraits, Germany, Size: Paper: 20,8 cm x 14,2 cm (8,2 x 5,6 in) Condition: Very good condition. Pale browning along the edges in places and occasional surface rubbing.