Portrait of the Rüuber Johann Karraseck, 1803, Etching

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Unknown (19th century): Portrait of the robber Johann Karraseck, 1803, EtchingTechnique: Etching on PaperStamp: Verso Collector's stamp, Lugt no.: 3549. … Read more Unknown (19th century): Portrait of the robber Johann Karraseck, 1803, EtchingTechnique: Etching on PaperStamp: Verso Collector's stamp, Lugt no.: 3549. Erhard Oskar Kaps. Leipzig. 20th century, 19th centuryInscription: dated at the top centre: "1803".Date: 1803Description: On 6 August 1800, the so-called "robber chief" Johann Karraseck (1764-1809) was arrested in Seifhennersdorf near Zittau and sentenced to life imprisonment for numerous robberies in 1803. Actually a criminal among many of his time, a veritable robber cult nevertheless formed around him, stylising him as a Saxon Robin Hood. All this belongs to the realm of legend. Theft, violence and murder characterised the life of the robber, who probably presided over a whole group of criminals. Yet even contemporary sources use him as a symbolic figure of a fad that, right up to our own time, sees in the thief, unjustly marginalised by society, the realiser of a social utopia that was deliberately created as a counter-model to the prevailing conditions at the time. It is evident that these robbery novels for the edification of the educated bourgeoisie must lack any correspondence with reality. On the other hand, they are important projection surfaces for articulating a certain discomfort with social reality in the shelter of art. Our graphic work by a skilled but indeterminable artist is part of this mythologisation of the robber. Comparable in type to a graphic portrait of a scholar, as frequently encountered around 1800, Karraseck is not characterised as a criminal, but as a person to be revered. His attributes, comparable to those of Christ, are his instruments of torture.Keywords: 19th century, Biedermeier, Portraits, Germany, Size: 23,4 cm x 16,2 cm (9,2 x 6,4 in), Depiction: 22,2 cm x 14,8 cm (8,7 x 5,8 in)Condition: Good condition. Minimally stained in margin, small box pleat upper left. Tiny crease in lower left corner. See less