Landscape with antique archway, ca. 1695 – 1700

Blatt: 134 x 210 mm

Physical Description: Gouache, graphite, partially gone over with red, green and brown glaze

Inventory Number: 3094

Object Number: 3094 Z

Status: Request for presentation in the study room of the Prints and Drawings Department

Texts

About the Work

The two landscapes "Landscape with Ancient Archway" (Inv.-Nr. 3094) and "Ancient Grave Ruins in a River Landscape" (Inv.-Nr. 3095) were presumably purchased as companion pieces. They combine classical ruins of indeterminate identity with nature in the form of lush vegetation and quietly flowing water. The small human figures convey a sense of the proportions and – perhaps like the drawings’ beholders – appear to be contemplating and discussing the monuments’ onetime grandeur and later decay, and in general the themes of history and time. The silvery light achieved with body colour supports the mood of reverie.