IN FOCUS: WAIDMANNSDANK! DRAWINGS, ETCHINGS, AND PRINTING PLATES BY JOHANN ELIAS RIDINGER (1698–1767)

Johann Elias Ridinger created some of the most vivid drawings and prints depicting animals of the 18th century – and beyond. Tremendous in scope and rich in detail, Ridinger’s baroque oeuvre of around 1,600 etchings set the bar for animal studies with its anatomically precise and lifelike depictions of hunting scenes and wildlife. The Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München’s collection of Ridinger’s graphic oeuvre is nearly complete.

All the more pleasing, then, that nineteen drawings and three printing plates by Ridinger, as well as many works by other artists, have been presented to the Graphische Sammlung from the former collection of entrepreneur and businessman Hans Dedi (1918–2016). For us that is reason enough to express deep gratitude and present the donation – supplemented by our own holdings and gifts from the Friends of the Pinakothek – in a twelve-part exhibition that highlights Ridinger’s art and that of his successors.