Friday, September 7, 2007

Baroque Fables

Owl and other birds in forest

L'opiniatrete en cas de mariage engendre repentance



wolf dressed as old woman with animals

L'yvresse hout esue decouvre la folie de l'esprit [?]



fox threatening owl

Un ami dissimulé est plus nuisible qu'un enemi declare



squawking birds see disgusised fox

La Precaution Surmonte la Malice



elephant strangling fox with trunk

La vangeance d'un inferieur contre'un puissant est nuisible



goat dancing while animals look on

La vieillesse sans prudence devient meprisable pour des actions pueriles



cat on birdcage

L'adulation malicieuse est a la fin de couverte et confondue

{I know I've posted this image before...somewhere}
"... the scene is the room of a wealthy man and the drama is enacted by his pets: two dogs, a monkey, a tomcat, and a parrot, who is the man's cherished favorite. The greedy tomcat attempts to lure the parrot from its cage, so that he may capture and feast upon it. The monkey scolds the cat for his malice and ingratitude toward the man of the house and the two faithful dogs attempt to chase the cat away. When the man discovers what happened, the tomcat meets his demise." [source]



wolf biting on peacock neck

Le faste faisant la nique aux autres est confondu lui-meme



bird flies above ferocious animals

Aussi les petits et les mediocres on quelque chose pour
n'etre pas meprisés des grands et des puissants



ostrich squawking at eagle

C'et vainement travailler que de vouloir
inserer a un gros corps l'esprit de subtilité



wolf with paw in trap in front of group of animals

La convoitise fier et injuste a une issue funeste



falconstands in the middle of a group of birds

La grande pompe couvre souvent la plus rude esclavage





La pompe et la magnificence ne rendent personne plus sage



[Admission Obvious: the captions above are possibly poorly transcribed and are certain to have been dubiously interpreted (mouseover for english). Click for enlarged versions with german, latin and french captions at the bottom of each print.]


"Johann Elias Ridinger (1698-1766) was a German painter, engraver, draughtsman and publisher. His training included depictions of animals, especially horses, as well as copies of earlier masters. He spent a three-year period in Regensburg where he made many visits to the riding school, which proved decisive for his development. After 1723, he founded an art publishing house, selling prints that he himself designed and engraved: series on hunting, definitions of breeds of horses, illustrated lessons for riding and war-horses, depictions of wild animals and of zoological abnormalities.

Ridinger produced at least 1,600 engraved, etched and scratched sheets showing the characteristic postures of animals in the landscape. In 1759 Ridinger became director of the Augsburg Stadtakademie (school of art). After his death his sons continued to run the publishing house. His most popular series--such as this one-- continued to be reprinted until well into the 19th Century, and were also adapted to other media, such as wall decoration, porcelain and ceramics." [source: a, b]

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