Calab Rare Books
COLOUR PASTEL MANUAL
COLOUR PASTEL MANUAL
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Praktische Anweisung zur Pastellmalerey. By Georg Christoph Günther. [8], 134, [2] pp. Illustrated with 6 engraved plates, 2 of the plates contain 82 hand-applied pastel colour samples and 4 states of the same engraved plates, plus a woodcut title vignette; head- and tailpieces; and engraved initials. 4to., 195 x 155 mm, bound in contemporary calf, spine elaborately gilt, black morocco spine label, edges red-stained. Nürnberg: In Verlag Christoph Weigels, 1762.
First Edition of one of the earliest guides to pastel painting. This technical manual offers detailed accounts of support preparation, mixing of colours, and their preservation. Its importance remained undiminished and a second edition was published thirty years later in 1792.
Georg Christoph Günther (1736-1777), master draughtsman, engraver, painter, and pastel-manufacturer, is mainly known for his practical manual, Praktische Anweisung zur Pastellmalerey, called one of the earliest and most comprehensive guides to pastel painting. The author was a practitioner of the craft and published his manual for amateur and professional artists. The four engraved plates are variations of the same image (a female bust portrait) that Günther uses to demonstrate how a portrait should be developed through successive stages of additional detail. None of his artwork is known to have survived.
Some pastel samples have slight discoloration and smearing which is common for the delicate medium. Else an exceptionally fine copy.
Sulzer III, 719.





