Saturday, October 28, 2017

European Images of Ancient Non-human Beings

Bartholomeus Spranger
Cupid and Psyche
before 1611
drawing
British Museum

Jonas Umbach
Pan pursuing Syrinx through the reeds
before 1700
etching
British Museum

Balthasar Bernaerts after Jan Goeree
Apollo bestowing laurel wreath on bust of Horace
(title-page for Richard Bentley's edition of Horace)
1713
etching, engraving
British Museum

Arnold Houbraken
Priapus in a landscape
before 1719
engraving
British Museum

"Priapus, standing in a landscape, holding a knife in his right hand; has fruit and vegetables in his garment; on his head a corn-plant . . . from the second part of a series of figures depicting emblems and symbols."

 curator's notes from the British Museum

Domenico Cunego after Domenichino
Landscape with Apollo and Hyacinthus 
(after a fresco in the Loggia del Giardino of Palazzo Farnese, Rome)
1771
etching, engraving
British Museum

Salomon Gessner
Women approach Herm of Pan in a landscape
1787
watercolor, bodycolor
British Museum

"Salomon Gessner (1730-1788) was a Swiss writer who achieved international fame during his lifetime for idyllic poetry and prose based on the classics.  This sheet [directly above] is a fine example of his pastoral landscapes, which he drew in watercolor and bodycolor primarily during the last decade of his life.  The drawing was etched in 1805 by a German printmaker of the next generation, Carl Wilhelm Kolbe, whose evocative landscape prints [example directly below] have much in common with Gessner's pastoral works.  . . .  Most of Gessner's pastoral watercolors are in the Graphische Sammlung Kunsthaus Zürich."

 curator's notes from the British Museum

Carl Wilhelm Kolbe
Satyr carrying Nymph on his back in a landscape
ca. 1810-20
etching
British Museum

Bartolomeo Pinelli
Tearful Venus standing before Jupiter
(illustration for The Aeneid)
ca. 1811
etching
British Museum

Bartolomeo Pinelli
Venus emerging from a cloud of sacrificial smoke to prevent Aeneas from killing Helen
(illustration for The Aeneid)
ca. 1811
etching
British Museum

Bertel Thorvaldsen
Pan teaching pipes to child Satyr
1831
drawing
British Museum

"Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) - Danish Neoclassical sculptor; spent most of his working life in Rome, where he first arrived in 1797.  A museum, where he is also buried in the courtyard, is devoted to his work in Copenhagen."

 biographical note from the British Museum

François-Joseph Heim
Study for attendants at the Toilet of Venus, squared for transfer
before 1865
drawing
British Museum

Charles Conder
Pan and Nymphs in woodland setting
1904
colored chalk on green paper
British Museum

Herbert Cole
Vignette of Centaur with bow
before 1931
drawing
British Museum

"Herbert Cole (1867-1931) - Painter, draughtsman and illustrator working in London; illustrated volumes of poetry, literature and children's books for John Lane, J.M. Dent, and other publishers, 1890s-1920s; exhibited at the Royal Academy; taught at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts."

 biographical note from the British Museum

Cyril Goldie
Landscape composition with Centaur
before 1942
watercolor
British Museum

"Cyril Goldie (1872-1942) - Printmaker.  Based for some time in Liverpool.  Taught etching at the Central School of Arts and Crafts.  Exhibited at the New English Art Club and at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool."

 biographical note from the British Museum