Frontispiece for Heft IV of "Homer nach Antiken gezeichnet", Göttingen: Heinrich Dieterik, 1801–05 and Stuttgart: J. G. Cotta, 1821
Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein German
Not on view
Considered Tischbein's most masterful print, this landscape contains everything needed for human sustenance—ripe grain to make bread, grapes containing juice already fermented to drink, cattle for meat, and wood for shelter. The artist saw such vineyards in southern Italy and felt they brought the ancient world vividly to life. He used this print to introduce the story of Odysseus and Polyphemus in a series devoted to classical art and Homer, echoing lines that describe the Cyclops' island as an earthly paradise. This rare early state includes chalk additions that help define the distant oxen and vines at upper left and center right. When published, these drawn lines were translated into etching.
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