Lot number 2025 - Auction 150
MARIA VERKÜNDIGUNG, 1855

JULIUS SCHNORR VON CAROLSFELD 1794 Leipzig - 1872 Dresden THE ANNUNCIATION TO MARY, 1855 Pen and black-grey ink on beige wove paper. 22 x 26 cm (55 x 63 cm). Monogrammed and dated "18JS55, 25 Sept." Verso: a pencil sketch of the Annunciation, numbered 114ff. Mounted and framed under glass. The idea of producing a picture Bible as a collaborative project was originally conceived by Friedrich Overbeck but never came to fruition. Later attempts in 1821 and 1824-led by Schnorr in cooperation with Passavant, Amsler, Barth, and Bohmer-also failed. These setbacks appear to have motivated Schnorr to undertake the project independently. By the time he returned to Munich in 1827, he had already completed around forty preparatory designs. After a longer creative hiatus, he resumed work on the project in 1849/50 and established contact with the Leipzig publisher Georg Wigand. Wigand viewed the publication of the picture Bible as a matter of national cultural significance. Ultimately, the full cycle of 240 illustrations was published between October 1852 and December 1860. The present drawing served as the direct model for woodcut No. 162. It presents the final composition without any deviations. Nonetheless, in the printed version, the dynamic gesture of the entering angel and the quiet, contemplative posture of Mary appear somewhat more restrained and austere. Schnorr's precise, linear style is clearly inspired by the woodcuts of Albrecht Durer, while the figure types evoke Raphael's compositions in the Vatican Loggias. Literature: A. Schahl, Geschichte der Bilderbibel von Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, PhD diss., Leipzig 1936. Provenance: Private collection. Collection A. Meyer, Hamburg (Lugt 1994). Collection C. Heumann, Chemnitz (Lugt 2841a). Auction: C. G. Boerner, Leipzig, 16 March 1914, lot 752.