A. Waterloo

In 1795 Adam von Bartsch published the first edition of his catalogue of the prints by Antoni Waterloo, making it one of the first catalogues raisonne of any printmaker. More than two hundred years later his numerical sequence is still followed in the present catalogue, the fiftieth volume of the Dutch & Flemish Hollstein series. The early date of Bartsch catalogue reflects the high esteem in which Waterloos wooded landscapes were held at the time. The present volume hopes to fill the need of a catalogue clearly separating the pristine first impressions from the late worn ones or impressions from the plates reworked in publisher's workshops like that of Francois Basan.
On the one hand this has been accomplished by continued research into the publishing history of the original copperplates to distinguish between contemporary and posthumous editions. On the other hand no effort has been spared to come to a form of presentation that would be easy and quick to use. Practically all state differences in Waterloos plates are known today and the sheer quantity of these combined with the difficulty of describing them in understandable prose could easily cloud the practical end of this reference work: establish the state of a given impression within a few minutes.

To that end state changes comprising more than a difference of numbering in a given set of landscapes have been illustrated. As a rule the first state by Waterloo has been illustrated fully, after which selected details are used to distinguish clearly between subsequent states. The details are lettered and cross-refer to clearly indicated parts of the state description in the catalogue text. Details of the situation before and after rework are given in each case. Text, illustration and details are in this volume presented on facing pages. The introduction establish which states and impressions can be regarded as posthumous. Three appendices to the introduction describe the contents of four known publishers editions in the form of albums. This is followed by the catalogue. A table linking each state to the artists or a publishers edition is a handy tool establishing which states are known in A preuves artiste and concludes the catalogue. The catalogue of the prints by Antoni Waterloo offers: an introduction into the publishing history of Waterloos prints, comprising every known listing of the artists copperplates in stocklists and inventories of publishers; a table linking each state to the artists or a publishers edition; quick to use presentation of state differences; description of all state differences known to date; repositories of impressions per state per print, the holdings of e.g. the Albertina, Vienna and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris, presented fully for the first time; references to the bound oeuvres of Waterloo prints published by e.g. Cornelis Danckerts ii and Francois Basan; listing of previous catalogues and literature; reference to all known preparatory drawings and mentioning all known copies after Waterloos originals.

Published in 1997
Compiler: Christiaan Schuckman
Editor: Dieuwke de Hoop Scheffer
ISBN: 978-90-75607-18-5
336 pp.

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