Die große Historie - Hatje Cantz

A two-page spread from an art history book. On the left is a full-page, sepia-toned neoclassical illustration depicting a mythological scene of tragedy, with women in flowing robes grieving on the ground as two gods with bows appear in the dark clouds above. On the right is the book's table of contents in German.

A page from a book, written in German, with the heading Einführung. The body of the text is laid out in two columns and discusses the art collection of Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen and Archduchess Marie Christine. The first paragraph begins with a large drop cap A.

A two-page spread from an art history book in German. The left page is solid turquoise with a white title. The right page features text alongside a neoclassical painting by Anton Raphael Mengs, Jupiter and Ganymede. The painting shows the seated, bearded Jupiter, draped in white, embracing the nude youth Ganymede, who offers him a cup as they lean in to kiss.

A book spread showing a panoramic, black-and-white drawing by Jacques-Louis David titled The Combat of Diomedes, from 1776. The artwork depicts a chaotic and dense battle scene from the Trojan War. On the ground, soldiers on foot, on horseback, and in chariots are engaged in a violent melee. Above them, gods and goddesses float on swirling clouds, intervening in the conflict below. The left page contains descriptive text in German.

Two side-by-side illustrations from a book, depicting elaborate wall decorations in the ancient Roman style. Each illustration features a symmetrical, arched architectural frame with columns, decorated in red, blue, and brown. The central panel on the left shows a male classical figure, while the panel on the right shows a seated female classical figure with an attendant by the water.

A two-page spread from an art history book. The left page contains German text. The right page features a detailed drawing by Philipp Jakob Becker of a classical bust of a bearded man with a leafy wreath, identified in the text as Dionysus. The bust is depicted in a drawn frame against a dark background, with the name Aesculapius written on its base.

An open book spread with German text on the left page. The right page features a framed, black and white drawing of a classical statue, Kauernde Venus or Crouching Venus. The nude female figure crouches on a stone block, looking down over her shoulder with her arms held protectively around her head and chest.

A book page with German text on the left and a neoclassical drawing by Robert von Langer on the right, titled Hebe reicht Herkules den Kelch der Unsterblichkeit. The drawing resembles a bronze relief, showing mythological figures on dark clouds against a light background. A seated Zeus with an eagle is on the left. In the center, the goddess Hebe offers a chalice to a muscular Heracles, who is seen from behind wearing a lion's skin and reaching for the cup.

An open art book displaying a red chalk drawing by Jacob Matthias Schmutzer on the right-hand page. The drawing, titled Aktmodell als Jupiter tonans posierend, shows a muscular nude man with a crown in a powerful, seated pose with one arm raised, as if about to throw a thunderbolt. The left page contains descriptive text in German.

A two-page spread from a book, featuring a sepia-toned drawing by Conrad Martin Metz on the right and German text on the left. The 1803 neoclassical illustration shows the nude sun god Phoebus Apollo standing in a chariot, holding the reins of four powerful horses as they rise from the ocean waves, with the radiant sun behind them.

A banner with a teal-green panel on the left featuring the German text: Zwischen Mythologie und Geschichte, Helden der Antike. The right side displays a classical black-and-white illustration of an ancient battle, with armored warriors clashing with spears and shields in a mountainous setting.

An open book spread shows German text on the left page and a painting on the right. The painting is Per Emanuel Limnell's neoclassical work, The Death of Virginia, circa 1800. It depicts a chaotic, crowded scene in ancient Rome where a man stabs a woman in a white dress on stone steps in front of a grand building, as onlookers react with shock and horror.

A two-page spread from an art book. The left page contains German text describing the artwork on the right. The right page displays Joseph Anton Koch's 1797 painting, The Deluge. The neoclassical painting depicts a chaotic scene of numerous people struggling to escape rising floodwaters under a dark, stormy sky with lightning, as Noah's Ark floats in the distance.

A two-page spread from an art book, with German text on the left page. The right page features a drawing by Johann Heinrich Füssli, The Shepherd's Dream. The artwork depicts a sleeping shepherd on the ground, surrounded by small, fantastical and grotesque creatures. Above him, a chaotic and swirling vision of ethereal, winged figures fills the dark, cloudy sky.

A two-page book spread featuring Robert von Langer's 1804 drawing, Das Menschengeschlecht vom Elemente des Wassers bedroht. The sepia-toned artwork on the right depicts a tragic scene: a distraught, nude man sits on a rock in a stormy sea, holding the lifeless body of a woman. Beside them, a small child lies in the turbulent water. The left page contains explanatory text in German.

Götter, Helden und Verräter

Das Historienbild um 1800

€ 48.00

VAT included. Shipping costs will be calculated at checkout

Edited by: Christof Metzger, Julia Zaunbauer

Graphic Design: Klaus E. Göltz

Foreword by: Klaus Albrecht Schröder

Texts by: Ulrich Heiß, Christof Metzger, Julia Zaunbauer

German

June 2023, 216 Pages, 106 Photos

Quarterbound Hardcover

250mm x 290mm

ISBN: 978-3-7757-5452-1

HATJE CANTZ VERLAG
Mommsenstr. 27
10629 Berlin
Germany
E-Mail: contact@hatjecantz.de

According to Article 9(7) of the GPSR Regulation, no additional security information is required for books without supplements or special functions.

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| The Great Master Narratives

Borne up by sentiment, historical painting was considered the most elevated genre of art well into the early nineteenth century. Staking a claim to morality as Schiller saw it—in the sense of having the ability to affect the spirit and intellect didactically—the drawings condense significant moments of religious, mythological material. Human emotions and deeds were turned into an artistic image of history, in the truest sense of the word. With the pictures assembled here, the Albertina unites outstanding works of art that mark the origins of what is today the most important collection of prints worldwide. Its founder, Prince Albert Casimir of Saxony, Duke of Teschen, was a collector with his finger on the pulse of the times. He was especially interested in drawings, studies, sketches, and large-format works on paper, acquiring the artworks directly, and often personally, from the studios of artists such as Jacques-Louis David, Anton Raphael Mengs, Antonio Canova, Angelika Kauffmann, Heinrich Friedrich Füger, and Johann Heinrich Füssli, or from the big Academy exhibitions of his era.

EXHIBITION
Albertina, Vienna
June 2-August 27, 2023