Porträt Jean Paul (1763-1825)

Portrait of Jean Paul. In this view, the German writer is reproduced as a chest image to the right. His critically looking view is stapled on the right, upper leaf margin. Instead of a wig, it is shown here with shaken, crowned hair. His clothing consists of a buttoned coat with a collar, including a buttoned white shirt. The image is rectangular. Jean Paul first studied theology at the University of Leipzig. Soon after, he began writing himself. His first great success, which made him suddenly famous, was the work “Hesperus or 45 Hundposttage,” which was published in 1795. An admirer of his works, Charlotte von Kalb, invited him to Weimar. In 1798 he stayed at the Gleimhaus in Halberstadt. In 1800 he moved to Berlin. A few years later he lived in Meiningen and Coburg until he finally moved with his family to Bayreuth. He made some trips in time, among others he visited E. T. A. Hoffmann in Bamberg. Other major literary successes were missing. The Munich eraser Adrian Schleich (1812-1894) created this leaf as a steel engraving. He was guided by oil paintings from 1810/1811 by Friedrich Meier (1785-1815), which is now in the Old National Gallery in Berlin. From this engraving there is a variant that resembles this one, except for the indication of the template, here it is according to Ernst Förster, and the fact that the indication of Breitkopf & Härtel and F. A. Brockhaus is missing. The time of the publication is estimated between 1827 and 1894 and it is now in the State Graphic Collection of Munich. From the present sheet there are other specimens in the collections of the Gleimhaus in Halberstadt and the University Library of Leipzig. Signature: After the painting of the Oel by Friedr. Meyer, 1811. Gest. Adrian Schleich. Publisher of Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig. Print by F. A. Brockhaus. Caption: JEAN PAUL. (Stiftung Händel-Haus Halle Foundation)