Figures in Oriental Costume in a Landscape
Medium
Pen and brush and black ink, with brush and brown and gray wash, over graphite, on cream laid paper, laid down on tan laid paper
Dimensions
20.2 × 31.6 cm (8 × 12 1/2 in.)
Classification
ink or chalk wash
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
84437
Art Historical Context
In the Prints and Drawings department of the Art Institute of Chicago, *Figures in Oriental Costume in a Landscape* by Swiss artist Tiberius Dominikuscher (1759–1834) captures an imaginative scene of exotic figures set against a serene backdrop. Though undated, the work reflects the late 18th- or early 19th-century European fascination with Orientalism, where artists romanticized Eastern cultures through stylized costumes and landscapes, blending fantasy with observed details from travelogues or prints. Wocher employs a masterful mixed-media technique: delicate graphite underdrawing provides ...