Propylaeum
Medium
pen and black ink and watercolor heightened with white over black chalk and touches of graphite
Dimensions
Overall: 14.4 x 15.9 cm (5 11/16 x 6 1/4 in.) support: 48.8 x 33.7 cm (19 3/16 x 13 1/4 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Dr. Dieter Erich Meyer
Accession Number
1977.6.2
Art Historical Context
Visitors to the National Gallery of Art can admire *Propylaeum* (1890), a delicate drawing by German artist Themistocles von Eckenbrecher, gifted by Dr. Dieter Erich Meyer. Von Eckenbrecher, a Realist painter and traveler, captured the majestic Propylaea—the grand gateway to Athens' Acropolis—in this intimate study. Created during the late 19th century, when European artists flocked to Greece amid rising archaeological fervor, the work reflects a Romantic fascination with classical antiquity, blending precise observation with evocative atmosphere. Executed on a modest scale (14.4 x 15.9 cm), ...