The Invention of the Art of Drawing (the daughter of Butades of Sicyon and her Lover)

(Johann Heinrich) Ferdinand Olivier German
Heinrich Olivier German

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Making an unusual choice, the Olivier brothers set the Greek origin story of the art of drawing in the woods, rather than in an interior. The inventor traces the shadow of her beloved on a rock, the secluded, natural setting heightening the romantic tenor of the scene.

The Invention of the Art of Drawing (the daughter of Butades of Sicyon and her Lover), (Johann Heinrich) Ferdinand Olivier (German, Dessau 1785–1841 Munich), Pen and gray ink, watercolor; framing line in pen and black ink, by the artists

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