1646Town view by Matthäus Merian

Matthäus Merian the Elder (1593–1650) was a Swiss engraver and publisher. One of his most famous and extensive works is the “Topographia Germaniae,” which was published in 16 volumes between 1642 and 1654; Merian himself did not live to see its completion. The Hessian volume, “Topographia Hassiae et Regionum Vicinarum,” was published in 1646 and in a second edition in 1655.

Merian’s city views are often the oldest surviving depictions of many towns, showing their condition before the devastating destruction of the Thirty Years’ War. Although old city views must generally be viewed with a critical eye regarding authenticity, Merian’s engravings are of high cultural and art-historical value, as they usually represent the situation very accurately.

Merian created many of his own drawings and templates during his travels but also referred to the material of other artists. This is evident in the example of the Alsfeld view. In this case, the model is a copperplate engraving by Wilhelm Dilich from the “Hessische Chronica” of 1605. Merian adopted this model and refined it. Of particular interest to today’s viewer is the depiction of the city fortifications, the city gates, and the city castle built by Landgrave Hermann II “the Learned” between 1380 and 1390, which is clearly recognizable here. (MJ)