Michael Joseph Guzikow (1806-1837): Iconography

 {   }  indicates sources of the image and/or text.

[   ]  indicates art and artist lexicons, dictionaries and other sources in which the artist is listed.

 
There are an ample number of illustrations available in general and specialist music reference works of the “straw fiddle” and its descendants, the xylophone and marimba.  However, uniquely different images of Guzikow seem to total only seven.  The known or named artists are Cäcilie Brandt, Eustache Choiński, Bernhard Fischer, Paul Gavarni, and Josef Kriehuber d. Ä.  There are three unknown or unidentified artists.  Among the known artists, there has been rampant confusion and misattribution about the published images.  It appears that the wrong artists were assigned to some of the images, specifically one of Cäcilie Brandt’s two versions of Guzikow were attributed to Kriehuber – the portrait of the musician with his instrument shown beneath his image.  The engraving of the straw fiddle was, in one instance, engraved by Bernhard Fischer and incorporated in a collage-like arrangement with the Brandt image thus creating the appearance that the two images, portrait and instrument, were both by Kriehuber, when in fact, two other artists were responsible – Brandt and Fischer.  Because she was female, Brandt received very little recognition during and since her lifetime and, as a matter of routine acceptance, some of  her work was thought to be done by a man unless she signed it.  In fact, she had collaborated with engraver August Kneisel and when searching for entries for Brandt in authoritative art and artist dictionaries and lexicons, the researcher has to look for Kneisel’s entry to find mention of Brandt.

Brandt, Gavarni and Kriehuber were among the best and sought-after artists and lithographers of their era, which would insure commission and/or publication of their work.  Moreover, that these fine artists made images of Guzikow during his very short performing life is evidence of the widespread interest in his virtuoso performances and of knowledge of his tours and audience reception.  These three - Brandt (Germany), Gavarni (France) and Kriehuber (Austria) - may have been present at the concerts during Guzikow’s tour of their cities or had the opportunity to meet him and register his features for their work.  They may have acted in a repertorial mode as sketch artists who captured the exciting events of the moment.


BRANDT or BRAND, CÄCILIE (active 1820s to 1840s; German).  Artist and lithographer.
[BRAND in AKL, XIV, 593;  Zeichnerin, Lithographin, hauptsächlich Portraits in Thieme–Becker XX, 580, (1927 edition) under Kneisel, August;  Brand in Petteys, 91]
§         “Bildnis. (¾ links); darunter seine Strohfidel. Lith.”  Signed “Cä. Brandt del.”  {Österreichische National Bibliothek Bildarchiv}

The lithographs identified as being those made by Kriehuber are probably made by Brandt.  They are:

“Joseph Gusikow,” “Lith. Anst. v. Pobuda Rees et Cie.” from Lewald’s Europa, vol. II, foll. 240, 1836.  Image online at <http://wikiproxy.cantrell.org.uk/Josef_Gusikov> and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Gusikov.
            The best quality image is at: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3c/Mjg.jpg

Pobuda, Rees et Cie. is identified as a “Lithographischer Drucker und Verlag.” 
Wenzel Pobuda and J. Rees were the principals of this small specialty press in Munich.
See Europa: Chronik der gebildeten Welt (Stuttgart and Leipzig) was founded by August Lewald (1792-1871) and edited by him from 1835 to 1846.“Michael Joseph Gusikow and his ‘stroy fidl.’. From a lithograph by Kreihuber [sic], Vienna, 1836.” 
Image online at www.rainlore.demon.co.uk/Guzikow/GuzikowArchs.html

NOTE:  The plate in Sigmund Schlesinger, Joseph Gusikow und dessen Holz- und Stroh-instrument (Vienna: F. Tendler, 1836) may be the composite by Brandt and Fischer.

CHOIŃSKI [CHOINSKY], EUSTACHE/EUSTACHY/EUSTACHIUS (1814-1836; Austrian).  Artist.
[Dizionario Comanducci;  Universitätsarchiv der Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien;  AKL XVIII, 611;  Thieme-Becker (1912 ed.), VI, 523;  Fuchs.19., I, ???;  ÖKL, IV, ///;  Bénézit06, III, 959 - “Choinski, Eustachius”]
“Bildnis, (Brust, fast en face). Gem. von Eustache Choiński, lith. von Josef Kriehuber.” [Österreichische National Bibliothek Bildarchiv] {www.bildarchiv.at/Profiszettel.aspx?page=1&wort=Gusikow&parent=267520}
§         “Portr. (Musiker J. Gusikow)” noted in AKL entry “Choiński, Eustachy.”
Born in Vienna of Polish Catholic parents, Choiński entered the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts in 1829 at the age of fifteen and left in 1833 at age nineteen; he is said also to have studied in Paris.  His work was shown in the official exhibits “Ausstellungen bei St. Anna” in Vienna from 1834 to 1836.  All of his exhibited works were portraits and all were oil paintings.  The paintings relevant to a possible Guzikow identification were exhibited and titled only as “ein Russe,” “ein junger Russe,” and “ein Israelit.”  All the other submissions have no specific identifier except “portrait” and “portraitstudie.”  The present location of Choiński’s artwork is unknown.  It is not known how Kriehuber came to make his lithograph after Choiński.            See Rozmaitości (Lemberg) [Lvov]: 1831, no.11, page 85;  1837, no. 46, page 366.

FISCHER, BERNHARD “Guzikow’s xylophone: engraving after Bernhard Fischer.”
{The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2d, ed. Stanley Sadie, New York: Macmillan, 2001.  “Xylophone” Vol. X, 608-609; fig. 609}
“Engraving of Guzikow’s xylophone after a drawing by Bernh [sic] Fischer.”
{The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, London: Macmillan, 1984.  Xylophone: III, 869-879.  870, fig. 2b; 871, col. left: Michał Guzikow}
“Joseph Gusikow. Virtuose auf dem Holz u. Stroh Instrumente”  “Schesinger lith”
{Österreichische National Bibliothek Bildarchiv} 

GAVARNI, PAUL (1804-1866, French).  Lithographer, illustrator, engraver, caricaturist and watercolourist.  [pseud. of Hippolyte-Guillaume-Sulpice (or Sulpice-Guillaume) Chevalier]. [BNF;  Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed. online;  AKL, L, 321-324;  Bénézit06, V, 1423-1425;  Thieme-Becker (1912 ed.), XIII, 296-298;  Grove Art Online, Michel Melot, "Gavarni, Paul”  Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press, [01.09.08], http://www.groveart.com/]
§         “Gusikov et l’instrument qu’il a perfectionné,” lithograph, ca. 1835, 18.5x12.5 cm. <Gallica> - the image shown online appears to be flipped; Gavarni’s signature is backward. 

Literature

Gerhard Schack, introd., Paul Gavarni 1804-1866. Aquarelle, Handzeichnungen und Lithographien. Horst Jansen. Handzeichnungen und Radierungen nach Gavarni, Hamburg: Christians, 1980.
J. Armelhault and E. Bocher, eds., L'Oeuvre de Gavarni, catalogue raisonné, Paris, 1873.
E. and J. de Goncourt, Gavarni, l'homme et l'ceuvre, Paris, 1873.
Ch. Yriarte [Biographie], Paris, 1869.
Paul Gavarni, Ouvres choisies, ed. J. Janin, Theophile Gautier and Honoré Balzac, Paris, 1845.

KRIEHUBER, JOSEF d. Ä. (1800-1876; Austrian).  Portraitist, landscape painter, and lithographer.  [Thieme-Becker, XXI, 535-539; ÖBL, IV, 273-274;  Ö-Lexikon;  Biedermeier;  Bénézit, VIII, 48;  GRI;  AKL B-B, V, 707;  Fuchs 19., II, K140 has (1801-1876);  Fuchs Bm., I, 115-116;  FRESCO;  Grove mention in 'Lithography, 1818-89', 'Liechtenstein, House of', 'Kaiser, Eduard', 'Griebel, Carl', 'Eybl, Franz';  Busse, 700;  ADB, XVII, 166-167;  NDB, XIII, 45f]
§         “Jos. M. Gusików”  Identified in the OeNB Bildarchiv’s old card catalogue as “Bildnis (:Brust, fast en face). Gem. von Eustache Choiński, lith. von Josef Kriehuber.”  On this image is “Kriehuber lith.” and “Choinski pinx” both engraved in cursive.  {Österreichische National Bibliothek Bildarchiv}  See CHOIŃSKI, EUSTACHE    
Literature 

Selma Krasa, Josef Kriehuber, 1800-1876: der Porträtist einer Epoche, Wien: Christian Brandstätter Verlag, 1987.


UNKNOWN OR UNIDENTIFIED ARTISTS  

“Bildnis. (Brust, halb rechts); darunter seine Strohfidel. Lith.”  In the Österreichische National Bibliothek Bildarchiv.  May be another Brandt version.


“Bildnis. (Brust, halb links). Lith.”  In the Österreichische National Bibliothek Bildarchiv.


Anna Czekanowska, Polish Folk Music: Slavonic Heritage, Polish Tradition, Contemporary Trends, Cambridge Studies in Ethnomusicology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. 
172: figure 30(a) described as “Jewish dulcimer player Guzikow with his ensemble, 1835.”  [It is a crude sketch of Guzikow (allegedly) standing at a waist-high table upon which sits the “dulcimer” he plays with a mallet in each hand.  At his sides are a sitting cellist (left) and a standing violinist (right) with Guzikow standing to the front of the others.  All are dressed in ankle-length caftans buttoned up to their necks, and all wearing boots and round caps.  All have side curls while only two are bearded including Guzikow.  There is no artist attribution but there is a note in Polish on the bottom of the image: “guzików źyd polski.”]  The image source is listed as“State Archive of the City of Cracow, photo. S. Michta.”

Sigmund Schlesinger, Josef Gusikow und dessen Holz- und Stroh-Instrument,. Ein biograph. –artist. Beitrag zur richtigen Würdigung dieser ausserordentlichen Erscheinung (etc.), Wien: Tendler, 1836.
Described as from Schlesinger: “Bildnis, (¾ links, mit Bart).”  In the Österreichische National Bibliothek Bildarchiv.
 “Γүэиков Осип”: Памяць: гісторыка-дакументальная хроніка Шклоўскага раёна.- Мн.: Універсітэцкае, 1998, С.74-75.
[“Guzikov Osip”:  Pamyats': gіstoryka-dakumental'naya khronіka shkloўskaga rayena. Mn., Universitetskaye, 1998.  (Memory: Historical-Documentary Chronicle of the Shklov District, Minsk: University, 1998.)]

“Guzikov Osip.”  Image at: <www.mlib.basnet.by/kray/shklov/95.html> with a brief bio about famous people from the town of Shklov.  This is a very poor cropped reproduction of the Bernhard Fischer image in the Österreichische National Bibliothek Bildarchiv.

 
KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS 

ADB/NDB:  Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB, 55 Bände, 1875-1912) published by the Historische Kommission bei der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothekonline at <http://mdz1.bib-bvb.de/~ndb/> and Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB, 21 Bände, seit 1953) online at <http://aronsson.se/adb.html>.

AKL:  Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon, Munich: K.G. Saur, 1992-.  [As of 2002, the volumes with complete artist entries are volume I (A) to volume XXXII (Eimbke).  For the remainder of the alphabet, Eimbreck-Z, use the AKL B-B (see below), which provides only basic information.]

AKL B-B:  Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon; Bio-Bibliographischer Index, Munich: K. G. Saur, 1997-2000.  [A-Z in 10 vols.]

Bénézit.06:  Emmanuel Bénézit, Dictionary of Artists, Paris: Gründ, 2006.

BNF:  Bibliothèque nationale de France

Busse:  Joachim Busse, Internationales Handbuch aller Maler und Bildhauer des 19. Jahrhunderts, Busse-Verzeichnis, Wiesbaden: Verlag Busse Kunst Dokumentation GmbH, 1977.

FRESCO:  Frick Research Catalogue Online, Frick Art Reference Library, New York.

Fuchs 19.:  Heinrich Fuchs, Die österreichischen Maler des 19. Jahrhunderts, Vienna: Fuchs, 1972-1974, 4 vols.

Fuchs Bm.:  Heinrich Fuchs, Die österreichische Bildnisminiatur von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart, Vienna: Fuchs, 1981, 2 vols.

GRI:  Getty Research Institute Vocabulary Program, Union List of Artists Names/ULAN Name Record.  [online at <http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/ulan/index.html>]

Grove Art Online:  The Grove Dictionary of Art, London and New York: Macmillan Publishers, 1999.

NDB:  See ADB/NDB

ÖBL:  Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon, 1815-1950, ed. Österreichischen Akademie derWissenschaften, Graz: H. Böhlaus Nachf., 1957-.  Vol. 1-11.  Online at <http://www.oeaw.ac.at/oebl/>

Ö-Lexikon: Österreich-Lexikon.  [online]

Petteys:  Chris Petteys, Dictionary of Women Artists: an international dictionary of women artists born before 1900, Boston: G.K. Hall, 1985.

Thieme-Becker:  Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Kunstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, hrsg. von Ulrich Thieme und Felix Becker u.a., Leipzig: Engelmann, 1907-1950, 37v.  Reissued and updated, München: K. G. Saur, 1992-.
  

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


Ferdinand Gutschi, Universitätsarchiv der Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien

Mag. Peter Prokop, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Bildarchiv

 

 

Copyright©2007-2008 by Janet I. Wasserman