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Louis Durr print collection

Call Number

PR 142

Date

1513–1835, undated (bulk, 1660s), inclusive

Creator

Durr, Louis, 1821-1880

Extent

252 item(s) in 3 boxes and 3 oversize folders.

Language of Materials

The languages used throughout the collection are English, French, Italian, and Latin.

Abstract

A collection of European engravings, over half of which consists of leaves disbound from the catalog Theatrum Pictorium, compiled in the 1660s by the painter David Teniers, which depicts paintings from the collection of his patron, Leopold Wilhelm, Archduke of Austria. Most of the paintings represented are Italian, by the artists Titian, Giorgione, Polidoro da Lanciano, Tintoretto, Veronese, Andrea Schiavone, Francesco Bassano, Francesco Bassano the Younger, Palma il Giovane, Palma il Vecchio, and Domenico Fetti. Engravers include Coryn Boel, Nikolaus van Hoy, Theodor van Kessel, Pieter van Lisebetten, Jan van Ossenbeeck, Lucas Vorsterman II, and Johannes Popels. The collection includes an additional 94 European engravings from other sources, mostly after religious or allegorical works by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Rembrandt, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Rubens, Titian, and Anthony Van Dyck. Three prints show sculptures by Antonio Canova. There are also two works by Albrecht Dürer. Engravers include Francesco Bartolozzi, Pietro Fontana, Domenico Marchetti, Raffaello Morghen, and Lucas Vorsterman.

Biographical note

Louis Durr was born in Germany in 1821. His father was a jeweler; the young Durr first learned about art from his father and his wealthy clients. In 1848 Durr moved to the United States with his brother. He worked in Brooklyn and at a gold smeltery in Newark, New Jersey before starting his own business as a gold and silver refiner and assayer in New York City. Durr remained interested in art, and used his growing wealth to build a formidable collection of European paintings, which was particularly strong in the Dutch school. In 1863 he purchased a house on Fourth Street in Manhattan in which to store and display his artwork. It was Durr's intention to leave his collection to the City of New York, but its bulk proved difficult in the quest to secure a willing repository. After his death in 1880, several works of art, including engravings, were auctioned. The majority of the remainder of Durr's art collection was then given to the New-York Historical Society.

Arrangement

The collection is organized in two series:

Series I.
Leaves from the Theatrum Pictorium, 1660s
Series II.
Other engravings, 1513–1835, undated

In the container list below, the numbers preceding each print were assigned by New-York Historical Society staff when the collection was accessioned. Titles in quotes and attributions were transcribed directly from the prints. Brief descriptions in [square brackets] were supplied for those prints without titles in the plate.

Scope and Contents

The Louis Durr Print Collection spans the period 1513 to 1835 and contains European engravings.

Series I. Leaves from the Theatrum Pictorium, 1660s contains 158 disbound leaves from the book of that name (alternately titled Le theatre des peintures, or Amphitheatrum picturarum) compiled in the 1660s by the painter David Teniers. A second edition with page numbers was published in 1673. The paintings depicted in the book are from the art collection of Leopold Wilhelm, the Archduke of Austria (1614–1662), Teniers' patron. Most of the painters represented are Italian, and include Titian (circa 1488–1576), Giorgione (1477 or 1478–1510), Polidoro da Lanciano (?–1565), Tintoretto (1518–1594), Paolo Veronese (1528–1588), Andrea Schiavone (circa 1500–1563), Francesco Bassano (circa 1470–circa 1539), Palma il Giovane (1544–1628), Palma il Vecchio (1480?–1528), and Domenico Fetti (circa 1589–1623). Teniers himself made small copies of these paintings from which the engravings were executed. The book includes many different engravers, such as Coryn Boel (1620–1668), Nikolaus van Hoy (1631–1679), Jan van Kessel (1641–1680), Peter van Lisebetten (1630–1678), Jan van Ossenbeeck (1624?–1674), Lucas Vorsterman (1624–circa 1666), and Johannes Popels (1590–1663). The engravings in the Theatrum pictorium were grouped roughly chronologically by painter; the New-York Historical Society numbers assigned to these engravings follow a loosely alphabetical organization by engraver. A separate listing of the engravings by plate number has been created as well. The complete book contains 246 leaves. The missing leaves may have been sold at the auction of Durr's estate. A few leaves have two small engravings on one page; several other engravings are double leaves.

Series II. Other engravings, 1513–1835, undated encompasses 94 diverse European prints. Most of these engravings are religious or allegorical works after Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), Titian (circa 1488–1576), Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792), Raphael (1483–1520), Rembrandt (1606–1669), Anthony Van Dyck (1599–1641), and Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519). Three prints show sculptures by Antonio Canova (1757–1822). Two works by Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) are included. Engravers highly represented include Lucas Vorsterman (1624–circa 1666), Francesco Bartolozzi (1727–1815), Pietro Fontana (1762–1837), Raffaelo Morghen (1761–1833), and Domenico Marchetti (1780–1844).

Access Restrictions

Open to qualified researchers by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, contact the Print Room Librarian at printroom@nyhistory.org.

Use Restrictions

Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to 20 exposures of stable, unbound material per day. Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.

Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions

Preferred Citation

The collection should be cited as: Louis Durr Print Collection, PR 142, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, New-York Historical Society.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Twenty-two engravings were purchased, 1882. The remaining prints were a gift of the Durr estate, 1882.

Related Materials

The Louis Durr Print Collection is similar in scope to the Bryan Gallery of Christian Art Print Collection (PR-143).

The New-York Historical Society's Museum holds a number of paintings from Louis Durr's Collection.

Collection processed by

Jenny Gotwals (2002); updated and migrated to ArchivesSpace by Joseph Ditta (2020).

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:46:28 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: English

Processing Information

This collection was removed from the Graphic Arts File (PR 022) and inventoried by Jenny Gotwals in May 2002. Joseph Ditta updated and migrated her WORD document finding aid to ArchivesSpace in May-June 2020.

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024