652 - Pascha Johann Friedrich Weitsch

Pascha Johann Friedrich Weitsch 1723 Hessendamm – 1803 Salzdahlum – Pair of paintings: “The Battle of Oelpe on October 13 and 14, 1761” / “Oelpe Tower and Country Road” – (ca. 1761) – “The Battle of Oelpe on October 13 and 14, 1761” – Oil on wood. 31.3 x 41.4 cm. 43 x 53 cm (dimensions including frame). Signed lower right: Frid. Weitsch fec. Partially illegible inscription lower left: Action at Oelpe on October 13 (...) 14, 1761 / (...). On the back of the frame, an old handwritten label reads: The Battle of Oelpe on October 13 and 14, 1761. / (...). On the back, a label reads: CARLSRUHE DISTRICT O/S / No. 236. On the back of the frame, a stamp reads: Limbach Castle Administration. Old decorative frame. - “Oelpe Tower and Country Road” - Oil on wood. 31 x 41 cm (panel). 43.2 x 52.8 cm (dimensions including frame). Inscription lower left: Oelper Tower and / Country Road. On the back of the frame, an old handwritten label reads: Oelper Tower and Country Road / 1761 (...). On the reverse, a label reads: HERRSCHAFT CARLSRUHE O/S / No. 237. On the reverse of the frame, a stamp reads: Limbach Castle Administration. Old decorative frame. - Provenance: Private collection, Southern Germany—formerly owned by the House of Württemberg. - Lit.: Harz and Arcadia. Pascha Johann Friedrich Weitsch (1723–1803). Landscape Painter of the Enlightenment. Catalog accompanying the exhibition at the Gleimhaus in Halberstadt. Edited by Reimar F. Lacher. Halle (Saale) 2017, nos. 64 and 65 (the illustrations here show the variants of the paintings from the Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum featuring the same subject). “Weitsch captured the Battle of Ölper—during which the greatest danger to Brunswick was averted on the night of October 13–14, 1761—in two different depictions, each of which exists in multiple copies (...). Wolfenbüttel had already been captured by French troops; Braunschweig was under siege and was about to be stormed. This fate was averted by the nighttime surprise attack at Ölper. It is very likely that the two depictions show the decisive actions of six battalions under the command of Prince Friedrich of Brunswick southwest of the town near the so-called “Landwehr” (...).” (Lacher, Reimar F., in: Harz und Arkadien, p. 100ff.). The two paintings provide a good impression of the former appearance of the Ölper Tower, which is depicted here from both viewing angles. The paintings are therefore of interest from both a military-historical and an architectural-historical perspective. The origins of the Ölper Tower date back to 1413, when a stone defensive tower approximately 13 meters high with a half-timbered structure was erected there. In 1642, a half-timbered building was also constructed to serve as a Landwehr tavern; it is now a listed historic monument. The tower itself came into private ownership in 1765 and was eventually demolished in 1825 to make way for a large dance hall. Since 1980, the tower has featured the coat of arms of the Ölper district.