Weekly Calendar
Medium
Pen and black ink, watercolor
Dimensions
ca. 16 15/16 x 13 3/4 in. (43 x 35 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Karen B. Cohen Fund, 2008
Accession Number
2008.474
Tags
Art Historical Context
Joseph Anton Koch's *Weekly Calendar* (1822) is a captivating drawing that blends classical mythology with everyday timekeeping, featuring lively depictions of lions, male and female nudes, and motifs. Created during Koch's mature period in Rome, where he was a key figure in the Nazarene movement group of German artists seeking to revive the purity and spirituality of Italian Renaissance art—this work exemplifies his skill in fusing symbolic narrative with precise draftsmanship. The composition likely personifies the seven days of the week through allegorical figures, evoking ancient tradition...
About the Artist
Joseph Anton Koch · 1768–1839
Joseph Anton Koch, born on July 27, 1768, in the remote Tyrolean village of Elbigenalp, Austria, grew up tending his family's sheep amid the dramatic Alpine landscapes that would later define his art. At age 15, Bishop Umgelder recommended him for formal training, leading to studies at the Catholic seminary in Dillingen, with a court sculptor in Augsburg, and finally at the prestigious Hohe Karlss...