Costume Study for Osmin in the "Abduction from the Seraglio" by W.A. Mozart
ca. 1830–50
Medium
Watercolor, over graphite, gum arabic
Dimensions
Sheet: 11 1/8 × 8 1/16 in. (28.3 × 20.5 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Brooke Russell Astor Bequest, 2013
Accession Number
2013.219.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate watercolor captures costume design for Os, the gruff overse of the Pasha’s h in Mozart’s sing *Die Entführung aus dem Serail* (*The Abduction from the Seraglio*). Created between 1830 and 1850 by Johann Georg Christoph Fries and Angelo Quaglio, the sheet records the vivid Turkish-inspired attire—flowing robes, a tall turban, and richly patterned sash—that would have helped 19th-century audiences instantly recognize the comic villain’s exotic yet menacing presence on stage. Executed in watercolor over graphite with touches of gum arabic for luminous highlights, the drawing exempl...
About the Artist
Johann Georg Christoph Fries|Angelo Quaglio (German|German) · 1788 |1829 –1857 |1890
German, Nuremberg 1788–1857 Regensburg|German, Munich 1829–1890 Munich