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

1804
Not on view
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.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Invention of the Art of Drawing (the daughter of Butades of Sicyon and her Lover)
  • Artist: (Johann Heinrich) Ferdinand Olivier (German, Dessau 1785–1841 Munich)
  • Artist: Heinrich Olivier (German, Dessau 1783–1848 Berlin)
  • Date: 1804
  • Medium: Pen and gray ink, watercolor; framing line in pen and black ink, by the artists
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 4 7/16 × 3 3/8 in. (11.2 × 8.5 cm)
    Mount: 7 5/16 × 4 1/16 in. (18.6 × 10.3 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 2015
  • Object Number: 2015.26
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Sieben Gegenden aus Salzburg und Berchtesgaden Geordnet nach den sieben Tagen der Woche, verbunden durch zwey allegorische Blätter (Seven Places in Salzburg and Berchtesgaden, Arranged According to the Seven Days of the Week), (Johann Heinrich) Ferdinand Olivier German, Lithographs printed in gray and again with a light beige tone stone mounted on painted and gilt board with attached titles printed on brown paper. Printed portfolio with green ribbons.
Sieben Gegenden aus Salzburg und Berchtesgaden Geordnet nach den sieben Tagen der Woche, verbunden durch zwey allegorische Blätter (Seven Places in Salzburg and Berchtesgaden, Arranged According to the Seven Days of the Week)
(Johann Heinrich) Ferdinand Olivier
1823
Christ and the Pilgrims of Emmaus, (Johann Heinrich) Ferdinand Olivier German, Graphite, partly wiped
Christ and the Pilgrims of Emmaus
(Johann Heinrich) Ferdinand Olivier
ca. 1827
Mittwoch from Sieben Gegenden aus Salzburg und Berchtesgaden Geordnet nach den sieben Tagen der Woche, verbunden durch zwey allegorische Blätter (Seven Places in Salzburg and Berchtesgaden, Arranged According to the Seven Days of the Week), (Johann Heinrich) Ferdinand Olivier German, Lithograph printed in gray and again with a light beige tone stone mounted on painted and gilt board with attached title printed on brown paper. Printed portfolio with green ribbons.
Mittwoch from Sieben Gegenden aus Salzburg und Berchtesgaden Geordnet nach den sieben Tagen der Woche, verbunden durch zwey allegorische Blätter (Seven Places in Salzburg and Berchtesgaden, Arranged According to the Seven Days of the Week)
(Johann Heinrich) Ferdinand Olivier
1800–1841
Meadows at Aigen, near Salzburg
(Johann Heinrich) Ferdinand Olivier
1823
Sonnabend from Sieben Gegenden aus Salzburg und Berchtesgaden Geordnet nach den sieben Tagen der Woche, verbunden durch zwey allegorische Blätter (Seven Places in Salzburg and Berchtesgaden, Arranged According to the Seven Days of the Week), (Johann Heinrich) Ferdinand Olivier German, Lithograph printed in gray and again with a light beige tone stone mounted on painted and gilt board with attached title printed on brown paper. Printed portfolio with green ribbons.
Sonnabend from Sieben Gegenden aus Salzburg und Berchtesgaden Geordnet nach den sieben Tagen der Woche, verbunden durch zwey allegorische Blätter (Seven Places in Salzburg and Berchtesgaden, Arranged According to the Seven Days of the Week)
(Johann Heinrich) Ferdinand Olivier
1800–1841

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