1712 architecture drawing triumphal arch Charles VI J.M. Welsch Würzburg Baroque

Würzburg 1712. Pen, black ink, grey and black wash; 274 x 443 mm. ——————————————- Johann Maximilian von Welsch was the son of a middle-class family in Kronach. In 1692 he joined the army as a lieutenant. Until 1699, he acquired experiences as a front officer and engineer on the Upper Rhine, in Savoy and Hungary. On extensive travels through Europe, he obtained a large amount of knowledge in the field of fortification and eventually became a sought after fortress builder. Lothar Franz von Schönborn (1655-1729) , Elector and Archbishop of Mainz, commissioned Welsch in 1704 with the expansion and completion of the Mainz fortress.