Johann Georg Platzer

Private collection, Germany;

Anonymous sale, Lempertz, Cologne, 11 May 2013, lot 1105;

Where acquired.

Born in Tyrol, Johann Georg Platzer began his artistic training under the guidance of his stepfather and later his uncle before travelling to Vienna, where he entered the Academy in 1728. There he met Franz Christoph Janneck, with whom he remained closely associated, sharing a similar painterly approach. Both artists frequently worked on copper, producing works of remarkable refinement whose exquisite execution recalls the delicacy of the fijnschilders of the previous century.

This meticulous attention to detail, together with the porcelain-like finish and the brilliance of his colours, quickly earned Platzer a considerable reputation and brought him prestigious commissions from the Viennese nobility.