Skip to content

Home
Search
Your album
Learn more

Images

A beautiful responsive image

Outer Staircase of a Gothic Ruin (Treppenaufgang einer gotischen Ruine)

Image courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art | CC0 1.0

Start Zooming Stop Zooming

Current search
Add To Album

Date

1830

Artist

Domenico Quaglio (1787-1837)

Collection

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Image Link

http://www.clevelandart.org/art/1980.218

Description

Quaglio was recognized as the finest German topographical painter of his generation, and he showed a special affinity for dramatic buildings of the Gothic period. In this watercolor, a young family pauses in the archway of what appears to be a ruined Gothic church. Ivy encroaches upon the stairs, and a dense forest may be seen in the distance. Views of ruined churches juxtaposed by untamed nature frequently appeared in the landscapes of German Romantic artists who believed that nature signified the presence of God. Here, Quaglio contrasts the immensity of the Gothic ruin with the delicacy of the tiny infant. A major component of German Romanticism was the renewal of Gothic architecture as a symbol of Germany’s glorious past. The association of Gothic architecture with Germany was in fact based on the false assumption that a Germanic tribe, the Goths, had originated the style. Nevertheless, medieval ruins and Gothic buildings infiltrated landscapes of the period as symbols of that which was essentially German.
Inscription: VERSO, signed, lower right, in graphite: D. Quaglio f. in Decbr. 1830 ; lower left, in graphite: Domenico Quaglio d. F. [paraph: ey?] / 1786-1837 ; lower center, in graphite: Ansicht einer Ruine in / Meillerie Villaneuve des / gez. Dez. 1830 ; lower right, in graphite: Linken Ufer des Genfer see
Medium: gray and brown wash and framing lines in pen and black ink
Dimensions: Sheet: 24.1 x 16.8 cm (9 1/2 x 6 5/8 in.); Image: 23.2 x 15.2 cm (9 1/8 x 6 in.)
Credit Line: Anonymous gift in honor of Leona E. Prasse
Accesion Number: 1980.218

Image Licence

CC0 1.0

Image Credit

Image courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Location

Germany

Country

Tags

Architecture
Interiors

Category

Buildings & Architecture

Glossary
Search tips

© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform

© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform