Notes

Johann Wilhelm Baur was a German engraver, etcher and miniature painter, famous for a series of illustrations of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. According to Houbraken, he learned to draw and paint from the miniaturist Friedrich Brente in Strasbourg, before embarking on a Grand Tour to Rome, where he painted for Brassiano, a known patron of the arts. Baur was probably also a member of the Bentvueghels, but his nickname was not recorded by De Bie. The RKD in The Hague has assigned him the nickname Slagzwaard (Longsword). Many of his drawings of Ovid’s stories, the passion of Christ in 24 plates, and scenes of daily life in Rome (with costumes of various nationalities) were engraved by Melchior Küsel of Augsburg. He died in Vienna of a sudden illness while on a commission by Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor.