Artwork
Satyr Carrying a Nymph
Satyr Carrying a Nymph is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Salomon Gessner. It dates from 1770 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower left below image in plate: S. Gessner inv et f.; lower right below image in plate: 1.
About this work
Overview
Salomon Gessner’s print Satyr Carrying a Nymph dates from 1770. Executed as an etching on laid paper, the work measures the delicate interplay of line and tone typical of late‑eighteenth‑century printmaking.
Subject & Meaning
The composition depicts a goat‑bodied satyr moving through a shadowy woodland, cradling a sleeping nymph in his arms. A luminous moon hangs overhead, casting a pale glow that both illuminates the figures and deepens the surrounding darkness, suggesting a moment of quiet intimacy amid a mythic wilderness.
Technique & Style
Gessner employed a combination of traditional etching and dry‑point. The needle incised the copper plate, producing fine, velvety lines that render soft shadows, while the dry‑point work adds sharper edges and richer blacks. This dual approach creates a contrast that feels simultaneously eerie and tender.
History & Provenance
The print emerged in the final decade of Gessner’s career, a period when he explored classical themes through print media. No specific ownership record accompanies the work, but it is catalogued among his known prints and appears in several nineteenth‑century collections of German Romantic graphic art.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
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