Loretto

Title

Loretto

Description

Magnificent general view of Loreto with the Basilica of the Holy House. Below a city index with 30 points. Originally published by Wolff, this copy was published by his heirs. Johann Friedrich Probst took over Wolff's business, but as he had not yet become famous himself, he left Wolff's name on the plate. Printed on two plates and assembled.

ca. 1725

Artist

Wolff (1663-1724)

Jeremias Wolff (born 1663 in Augsburg, died 1724 Augsburg) was an Augsburg engraver and publisher. From a small engraving shop, the trained watchmaker built the largest art publishing house of the first half of the 18th century and distributed popular engravings. Most of the prints were illustrated thesis sheets that were sold throughout Europe. The publishing house employed the best engravers of his time. However, on most engravings, only the name of the publisher Wolff was recorded. At Wolff's instigation, the Imperial City Art Academy was founded in Augsburg in 1710. The publishing house was continued by his student and son-in-law Johann Balthasar Probst (1673–1750), an engraver and publisher, and later by his sons under the name Jeremias Wolff Erben. Quelle: Wikipedia

Historical Description

Loreto is an Italian municipality with in the Marche region, about 20 km southeast of Ancona in the foothills of the Gran Sasso Mountains. After St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Loreto is the second most important pilgrimage site in Italy and one of the most important in the Catholic world. The Basilica of the Holy House contains the Santa Casa, according to legend the Holy House of Nazareth, where Mary grew up and received the Annunciation of the Lord. It is said to have been carried to Loreto by angels. The place became the eponym of numerous ecclesiastical buildings, also geographical features, for example, for the Loretto Mountains in Freiburg or Constance. In the German-speaking area there are numerous Loreto chapels, which are modeled on the Holy House of Loreto.