- Also known as
-
Matthias Greuter
-
primary name: Greuter, Matthias
-
other name: Greuter, Matteo
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other name: Monogrammist MGF
- Details
- individual; printmaker; German; Italian; Male
- Life dates
- 1564/66-1638
- Biography
- Engraver; born c.1564/66 in Strasburg. Converted to Catholicism in 1594 and moved to Avignon in 1596 with three children. Moved to Rome 1603 until his death in 1638, in Rome. In 1612 he had a shop at San Marcello (Ehrle 1915). 1604 petition for a 10-year papal privilege to cover work that he intended to engrave after his own inventions (Leuschner). The privilege was granted 11 December 1604 (Anon., Maso Finiguerra). He had interests in the sciences, especially mathematics (Baglione) and engraved the plates for Galileo's book on Sunspots of 1613, under the supervision of Cigoli.
Baglione mentioned him as especially successful in small devotional works ('cose piccole di santi e di devotione, nelle quali era assai spiritoso..'); also made a number of thesis prints and titlepages. Re-worked existing plates, including Tempesta (Baglione). Plates recorded in the Vaccari stocklist of 1614 (Ehrle, 1908); he published many of his own plates and possibly those by others.
Father of Johann Friedrich Greuter (qv), with whom he collaborated on some projects and who took over the business from him.
NB There is a long-standing confusion with a group of Italian Mannerist plates which bear the monogram 'M.G.F.' and which were published in Italy in the 1580s (for two titlepages to books published in Rome in 1586 and 1590, see PQ 2001, figs.228 and 232. These have been traditionally called Greuter, and are included in the Hollstein catalogue as 'doubtful'. They cannot possibly be by Greuter who was in Strasburg at the time. But for the sake of convenience they are still listed under his name in the BM.
- Bibliography
- Hollstein (260 nos, including the Master M.G.F. - see below)
M. Bury, The Print in Italy 1550-1625, British Museum 2001, p.227 (whence following biography)
E.Wyss, PQ XVII 2000, pp.347ff (on 1596 set of Petrarch's Triumphs)
E.Leuschner in M.Fantoni (ed.), 'The art market in Italy XV-XVIIc', Ferrara 2003, p.68 (for conversion)
Louise Rice, 'Mattaeus Greuter and the Roman conclusion industry', in E.Leuschner (ed.), Ein privilegiertes Medium, Rome 2012, pp.221-38.
