Germans, from a set of costume plates of different nations

Art Historical Context

Johann Wilhelm Baur’s *Germans* belongs to a series of small etchings depicting the costumes of various nations, created roughly 1600 and 1640. Working in the early Baroque period, Baur specialized in finely detailed prints that captured the distinctive dress, accessories, and postures associated with different European peoples. This particular sheet, measuring just over three by four inches, shows figures in the layered garments and hats typical of German townspeople and soldiers of the time. Costume prints like these were popular in the seventeenth century as portable visual encyclopedias. They reflected a growing curiosity about regional identities and served both as reference material for artists and as souvenirs for travelers. Etching allowed Baur to render delicate folds of fabric and subtle textures with remarkable economy, making the series affordable and widely distributable. Acquired by the Metropolitan Museum in 1960 as part of the Elisha Whittelsey Collection, the print offers today’s viewers a charming glimpse into how early modern Europeans pictured themselves and their neighbors.

About the Artist

Johann Wilhelm Baur · 1607–1642

Johann Wilhelm Baur was a German draughtsman, painter, and printmaker who came of age in the early seventeenth century and built his reputation through the production of finely detailed illustrations and miniatures. Though the precise details of his training remain incompletely documented, Baur developed his skills in the tradition of German and Northern European graphic art, showing influences fr...