About this artwork
Johann Heinrich Ramberg studied history painting with Benjamin West in London from 1781 to 1788, but he found livelier inspiration in the English caricature tradition of William Hogarth and Thomas Rowlandson. On his return to Germany, he made his reputation by designing a classical curtain for a theater in his native Hannover, though he was more successful as a satirist and book illustrator. The Lovers, which is historicizing in its broad scale, slyly adds humor, romance, and a fairy-tale ambiance to Ramberg’s favorite theme: voyeurism. The postcoital pair, snug in their idyllic curtained bower, doze on, oblivious to the arrival of curious family members and pets.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Prints and Drawings
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Artist
- Johann Heinrich Ramberg
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Title
- The Lovers
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Place
- Germany (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- 1799
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Medium
- Pen lithograph in brown on cream wove paper
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Dimensions
- Image: 44.4 × 56.2 cm (17 1/2 × 22 3/16 in.); Sheet: 49 × 60.3 cm (19 5/16 × 23 3/4 in.)
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Credit Line
- Gift of Dorothy Braude Edinburg to the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Collection
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Reference Number
- 2013.423
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/149578/manifest.json
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.