ALBRECHT DÜRER

(1471 Nürnberg 1528)

Virgin on a Crescent with Cepter and Starry Crown. 1516. Engraving. Bartsch 32. Meder 37a (of c). Hollstein 37a (of b). SMS 81a (of c). 11,8:7,5 cm.

The star crowned Virgin stands with the Child on the crescent moon and is surrounded by the aureole of the sun. The Madonna on the crescent moon is one of the central topics in Durer’s work. The steady demand for devotional images enabled Durer to interpret this theme again and again. Durer has interwoven three mo-tifs here: the close observation of mother and child, the apocalyptic woman, and the triumphant Mary as queen of Heaven. In this representation, Dürer uses this motif for a fourth and last time. The comparison with the previous sheet M. 32 shows he maintained the baroque presence of the figure, but re-garding the relationship between mother and child, he goes back to his representations from before the turn of the century.

CHF 25’000.-

A standing Girl, seen from the side. Pencil, heightened in white. Sheetsize 30,4:17,5 cm.

Wolfgang Adam Töpffer’s contribution to the development of genre painting in Switzerland was considerable. During the pre-revolutionary unrest in France, which eventually led to the Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, Töpffer discovered in Geneva the peaceful side of country life. Wolfgang Adam Töpffer was a diligent draftsman. Looking at his entire oeuvre, drawings and sketches make up for more than half of it. He executed many of them during his excursions in the surrounding area of Geneva. A whole series of figure studies were executed by Töpffer, which he then used to enrich his landscape pain-tings. His lovely drawn female figures in artisticly draped costumes convey a ro-bust, rural romantic sensuality. A small foxing stain in the skirt.

CHF 3‘800.-

WOLFGANG-ADAM TÖPFFER

(1766 Genf 1847)

JAKOB EGGLI

(Dachsen 1812–1880 Rheinau)

Wädenswil au bord du Lac de Zurich. Around 1860. Bodycolor over lithography. 36,3:55,4 cm. Margins with green bodycolor.

Jakob Eggli came as an apprentice to Heinrich Uster, an employee of Johann Heinrich Bleuler. He specialized in painting in bodycolor and co-lored in this way also his prints. In technique and style, he was heavily influenced by Heinrich Bleuler. Later, Eggli bought the castle Widen near Ossingen, where he founded a publishing company. But his business was without success.

CHF 3’800.-

SAMUEL PUFENDORF (Freiherr von) (Dorfchemnitz 1632 – 1694 Berlin)

Histoire du Règne de Charles Gustave Roy de Suède comprise en sept commentaires enri-chis de tailles douces traduite en francois sur le latin de Monsieur le Baron Samuel de Pu-fendorf. Avec trois Indices. Imprime à Nurem-berg aus frais de Christophle Riegel par Knorz Imprimeur. 1697. 2 vol. Title engraved by Jean Boullanger; portrait of Samuel von Pufendorf by Samuel Blesendorff. 752 numbered pages with 114 engravings, mostly folded, and in ad-dition 12 portraits, 35 numbered pages supple-ment and 9 unnumbered pages register. Cont-emporary fawn-coloured calf. Raised bands on spine richly decorated. Mottled edges.

Prov.: Exlibris Grand d’Hauteville

As a son of a pastor, Pufendorf studied first at the father‘s request theology, but soon turned to jurisprudence and natural philosophy. Th-rough the mediation of his brother Esaias, who was a diplomat, he got a job as a tutor at the house of the Swedish ambassador Peter Juli-us Coyet in Copenhagen. Shortly after arrival, he fell in the Swedish-Danish war in captivity and followed then 1660 Coyet to The Hague, where he published his most famous publica-tion „Fundamentals of general theory of law“. In 1661, Pufendorf was called to Heidelberg, where he taught at the new Chair natural and international law. After sharp criticism of the constitution, he left Heidelberg and went to Sweden. The Swedish King Karl XI. appointed him finally to Court historian, the Privy Council and Secretary of State and by King Karl XI., he was also raised to a Baron in 1694. In 1688, Pufendorf moved to Berlin where he became a court historian and privy councilor at the Bran-denburg court. Richly illustrated edition of the first french edi-tion.

CHF 15‘000.-