A Prehistoric Stone Circle on a Mound, an Extensive Landscape Beyond
mid-18th–early 19th century
Medium
Black chalk or graphite, pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, and watercolor; framing lines in pen and black ink
Dimensions
sheet: 7 15/16 x 12 3/4 in. (20.1 x 32.4 cm) mount: 10 13/16 x 15 3/4 in. (27.5 x 40 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Didier Aaron Inc. Gift, 2003
Accession Number
2003.99
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the mid-18th to early 19th century Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein a member of the prolific German Tischbein family of artists known for their elegant portraits and evocative landscapes, captured the sublime mystery of ancient ruins in *A Prehistoric Stone Circle a Mound, an Landscape Beyond*. This delicate drawing depicts a megalithic stone circle perched a grassy mound, evoking prehistoric monuments like Stonehenge, rolling hills and a vast horizon stretching into the distance. Tischbein's work reflects the Enlightenment-era fascination with archaeology and the Romantic idealization of ...