A House on Water, and a New Way to Summon Geese by the Beat of a Drum
1769
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1769
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
A House on Water, and a New Way to Summon Geese by the Beat of a Drum is a 1769 by Filippo Morghen, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This painting shows a house floating on water and a person playing a drum to summon geese. The scene is imaginary and part of a series about life on the moon. It's interesting because it combines everyday elements with fantasy, like using a drum to call geese. Check out The Cleveland Museum of Art to learn more about this unique artwork.
Filippo Morghen’s set of 10 etchings is outstanding among visual narratives of imaginary voyages to the moon, both visual and literary, that intrigued 18th-century European audiences. A title page and nine plates depict the imagined lives and economy of moon dwellers. These include modes of transport such as large birds and sailboats propelled by giant bellows, enormous scissors for capturing wild beasts (including an oversized rat), and the use of giant pumpkins as fishing boats and as dwellings. Representations of the moon dwellers are based on inaccurate and imaginary European…
Morghen based this print series on three books dedicated to moon exploration, including Bishop Francis Godwin’s, Man in the Moone, 1640.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Filippo Morghen (1730–1807) was an Italian artist, born in Florence.
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