The Iliad of Homer, The Odyssey of Homer, Compositions from The Tragedies of Aeschylus, and The Theogony, Works and Days of Hesiod
Original title: The Iliad of Homer, The Odyssey of Homer, Compositions from The Tragedies of Aeschylus, and The Theogony, Works and Days of Hesiod
kurzbeschreibung
Between 1795 and 1817, John Flaxman produced this set of illustrations for Homer's epics, Aeschylus's tragedies, and Hesiod's didactic poems. The prints are line engravings, with the Hesiod plates also using stipple engraving. A typical motif presents three figures in classical dress.
Description
On the left stands a woman in a long robe and headdress; in the middle a seated woman holds a pen; on the right a seated man wearing a hat rests his hand thoughtfully on his chin. Between the seated figures is a table with two vases. The layout is symmetrical and entirely black and white. The figures appear stylized and follow the classical canon characteristic of line engravings of this period.
Context
The illustrations were commissioned for a multi-volume deluxe edition of classical literature published between 1795 and 1817. Flaxman, a leading figure of British Neoclassicism, drew on ancient vase paintings and reliefs. Various engravers executed the plates; the Hesiod sheets were further refined with stipple engraving. The work belongs to the widespread reception of Homer and Hesiod in the late eighteenth century.
Impact
The clear lines and calm, symmetrical arrangement give the scene a solemn, almost monumental stillness. Because the black-and-white image remains reduced, gestures and drapery folds come to the fore and radiate a quiet sublimity. The classicizing stylization creates a distant, idealized visual world that presents the literary material in timeless form.
Technique
The illustrations were executed in line engraving, a process using fine, even lines that allows great precision. For the Hesiod plates, stipple engraving was also employed, modeling the image areas with dots. The prints were made on laid paper and bound into a large-format volume measuring 28.4 × 44.7 cm.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)