The Songsters From an Original Painting by Peter de Laar, in the possession of the Publisher.
Drawn, Printed & Published October 1837, at A. Friedel's Lithographic Establishment, 252, Tottenham Court Road, London. Lithograph. Printed area 300 x 200mm (11¾ x 8"). A couple in a tavern sing from a songsheet. Both have clay pipes in their hands. After Pieter de Laer (1599-c.1641). Adam Friedel (1780- death date unknown) was a Danish artist, printmaker and publisher who, after serving in the Napoleonic wars, voluntarily joined the Greek army at the start of the Greek War of Independence, fashioning himself as Danish nobility. He was exposed by a real noble who proved his backstory to be a lie. After spending a year in Egypt he took refuge in London in 1824 where he opened a lithographer's shop. Between 1825 and 1826 Friedel printed and published, both in Paris and London, twenty-four lithographs with portraits of politicians and prominent military figures of the Greek War of Independence. He had drawn the portraits himself, in most cases from nature, while J. Bouvier coloured and lithographed these images. The series was a success and he was awarded for his contributions to the Greek Struggle for Independence with two decorations. For health reasons he travelled around a lot. He travelled to Smyrna and taught at a Greek school. He stayed at the Ottoman Capital during the Crimean War and painted several portraits of various politicians. In 1865 he asked for a pension for his services to Greece however little is known about what happened to him after that and his place and date of death is unknown.
[Ref: 52141] £140.00
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