658 - C. PFEIFFER (*1769) after OELENHAINZ (*1745), Joh. Caspar Lavater (born 1741), 1800, stipple engraving

C. PFEIFFER (*1769) after OELENHAINZ (*1745), Joh. Caspar Lavater (born 1741), 1800, stipple engraving Carl Hermann Pfeiffer (1769 Frankfurt am Main – 1829 Vienna) after August Friedrich Oelenhainz (1745 Endingen near Balingen – 1804 Phalsbourg (Lorraine)): Portrait of the philosopher Johann Caspar Lavater (1741–1801), 1800, stipple engraving Technique: Stipple engraving on paper Inscription: Signed in the lower part of the printing plate: “Gemahlt von Oelenhainz. | Engraved by C. H. Pfeiffer. | Lavater. | Nuremberg, by Johann Friedrich Frauenholz. 1800." Date: 1800 Description: The bust portrait of Johann Caspar Lavater (1741 Zurich–1801) depicts him wearing a jacket and waistcoat with his shirt collar open, his gaze directed into the distance. He is holding a book in his right hand, his index finger between the pages. In the background, an open curtain offers a glimpse of the books on the shelf. The philosopher and writer became particularly famous for his four-volume work *Physiognomische Fragmente, zur Beförderung der Menschenkenntniß und Menschenliebe* (Physiognomic Fragments: For the Promotion of Knowledge of Human Nature and Love of Mankind), which was published between 1775 and 1778 and contains instructions on how to characterize people based on their physical and facial features. Keywords: Book, Writer, Germany, Switzerland, Printmaking, Portrait, Physiognomy, 19th century, Romanticism, Portraits, Germany, Size: Paper: 47.1 cm x 34.7 cm (18.5 x 13.7 in), Plate: 38.7 cm x 27.7 cm (15.2 x 10.9 in), Depiction: 27.7 cm x 22.5 cm (10.9 x 8.9 in) Condition: Good condition. Occasional faint foxing visible. Soiled and slightly bumped along the edges in places.