Corphu

  • Translation

Article ID EUK4918

Title

Corphu

Description

View showing the town of Corfu (now the old town of Corfu) with the Old Venetian Fortress and the New Fortress of Crete with sailing ships in front.

Year

ca. 1650

Artist

Merian (1593-1650)

Matthäus Merian (1593 – 1650) , born in Basel, learned the art of copperplate engraving in Zurich and subsequently worked and studied in Strasbourg, Nancy, and Paris, before returning to Basel in 1615. The following year he moved to Frankfurt, Germany where he worked for the publisher Johann Theodor de Bry. He married his daughter, Maria Magdalena 1617. In 1620 they moved back to Basel, only to return three years later to Frankfurt, where Merian took over the publishing house of his father-in-law after de Bry's death in 1623. In 1626 he became a citizen of Frankfurt and could henceforth work as an independent publisher. He is the father of Maria Sibylla Merian, who later published her the famous and wellknown studies of flowers, insects and butterflies.

Historical Description

Greek settlers from Eretria founded in the 8th century BC. A first colony. From 395 onwards, Corfu belonged to the Eastern Roman Empire. The island was conquered by the Saracens and in the 11th century by the Norman Duke Robert Guiscard. As a result of the 4th crusade, Corfu came under the rule of the despot of Epiros after 1204. As the dowry of Helena of Epirus, the island had been in Manfred's possession in Sicily in 1258. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, Corfu's history was marked by conflicts with the Ottoman Empire, which ruled over mainland Greece and repeatedly tried to conquer and hold the Ionian Islands. The Venetians (Republic of Venice) ordered the removal of the vineyards and the planting of olive trees. In 1716, the Ottoman siege of the island's capital was lifted by the Venetian army under Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg and the last attempt to conquer the island was finally repelled. After the end of the Republic of Venice in 1797, France (under Napoleon) took possession of the Ionian Islands and Corfu as the Corcyre department. For a short time, from 1798 to 1807, Corfu was a Russian protectorate. This was followed by another French period until 1814. In 1815 (Congress of Vienna), Corfu became part of the Republic of the Ionian Islands under British protectorate. After a vote in parliament, the Ionian Islands joined the Greek state in 1864, which had been independent since 1830 and to which they have belonged since.

Place of Publication Frankfurt on Main
Dimensions (cm)13 x 35 cm
ConditionSome restoration at lower centerfold
Coloringblack/white
TechniqueCopper print

Reproduction:

43.50 €

( A reproduction can be ordered individually on request. )