Michael Wening (1645 - 1718)

Michael Wening

Michael Wening was a Bavarian artist, engraver and publisher of the Baroque period.

Wening was court engraver to Elector Ferdinand Maria of Bavaria and his successor Elector Max Emanuel. By the end of the 1670s, he opened his own publishing house, where he successfully published illustrated calendars and then topographical and historical materials for more than a decade.

Wening's main work - "Historico-Topographical Description" with 846 views - is considered the most complete description of Europe in the early modern period. To create it, the master himself traveled to many cities and made very accurate illustrations. The topographical work includes views and descriptions of towns, markets, monasteries, palaces, castles, court marks, and estates in Bavaria. The accompanying texts, which are a valuable addition to the engravings, were written by the Jesuit Ferdinand Schönwetter.