Alice Ottazzi // Between object and image: the multiple lives of English prints in 18th-century Germany (Part II)
This project builds upon my doctoral thesis, which explored the reception of the British school in 18th-century Paris. By demonstrating how the increasing presence of British prints in the French market enriched visual culture, particularly among French artists, leading to the appropriation and reworking of motifs, this project aims to expand the investigation to the German context. The goal is to examine parallels or differences with the French scene. While cultural relationships between Great Britain and the continent have been extensively studied, the specific interaction with Germany has received less attention. Previous studies have focused on the art market and critical reception of British art in Germany, with less emphasis on issues related to artistic production resulting from the circulation of images. This project seeks to analyze the various outcomes in German production during the second half of the 18th century, employing both material and visual studies methodologies. During the initial phase of this research, conducted during my first stay at the ZI, the figure of Carl Theodor von der Pfalz emerged as one of the main collectors, although the primary role was played by Johann Georg Stengel and Lambert Krahe, whose connections with the British art world require further analysis. This second stay provides an opportunity to continue this ongoing project by both exploring the collections of other families and investigating the professional connections that several German artists established while traveling to London to study the art of engraving and their role in their career and production.
[Caption: William Woollett after Benjamin West , The Death of General Wolfe, 1776, line-engraving with etching , 425x591 mm, New Haven, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, B1977.14.14483. Public Domain]
