Worrenberg, Hans | Hans Worrenberg, with sword in hand

Worrenberg, Hans

Hans Worrenberg. Holla et Westfalia: [Jacob Gole F.] [and] De Lespine cum Privil, [ca. 1675-1724]

Mezzotint (250 x 187). Large portrait of Worrenberg, engraved text at foot; faded stamp to lower right corner.

Worrenberg, a Swiss dwarf, was two feet tall. He is depicted here with his hand on his sword, contrasted with a giant named Hansen. "While little is known about the giant, Worrenberg was likely the most famous dwarf of the seventeenth century. ... Behind him is pictured the rectangular box that was his traveling home, a clever conveyance that unfortunately caused his demise. When his bearer fell into the river while boarding a ship, Worrenberg was trapped in the box and drowned" (LP&FW). 

The impression here does not have the printer Jacob Gole F.'s name at the foot, though it appears on an otherwise identical copy held at The British Museum.

REFERENCE:

The British Museum, 1851,0308.698

PROVENANCE:

LP&FW, p. 27