Veit Hammer: Der ewige Gärtner. Zum Dresdner Leben des Georg Meister (1653–1713)

The German master gardener Georg Meister (1653–1713) is one of the main characters responsible for a change in the European perception of Japan in the late 17th and early 18th century. Meister gained direct personal experience of the country during two short stays in the 1680s at the Dejima Island in Nagasaki while being employed by the Dutch VOC. Whilst an impression of Meister’s earlier years can be gained, in part, from his masterpiece „Der orientalisch-indianische Kunst- und Lust-Gärtner“ of 1692, this information is of only relatively small assistance in the further development of an understanding of Meister’s later life in the Saxon city of Dresden, where he was employed as a gardener at the „Grosse Garten“ after his return to Europe in 1689. In 1973 it was Friedemann Berger who first paid attention to the importance of Meister’s later period. In his short biography are some valuable sources mentioned but unfortunately not quoted. This current paper documents some of the main sources relating to Georg Meister and his life in Dresden, including facts on his work and research, housing and death.

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