What movement is Illustration and Border Design for Kupfer-Bibel (Copper Bible)?

Illustration and Border Design for Kupfer-Bibel (Copper Bible) is associated with Baroque.

Can I buy a print of Illustration and Border Design for Kupfer-Bibel (Copper Bible)?

Museum-quality prints of Illustration and Border Design for Kupfer-Bibel (Copper Bible) are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

Illustration and Border Design for Kupfer-Bibel (Copper Bible)

Johan Melchior Füssli , 1730

Illustration and Border Design for Kupfer-Bibel (Copper Bible) is a drawing by the Baroque artist Johan Melchior Füssli. It dates from 1730 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Accession no.: 2015.439
Credit line: Bequest of Muriel Butkin

About this work

Overview

This work reflects his role in visualizing biblical stories for a broad audience, combining narrative clarity with decorative elegance.

Created in 1730 by the Swiss artist Johan Melchior Füssli, this work comprises an illustration and a corresponding border design for the Kupfer-Bibel (Copper Bible). Executed in pen and brown ink with gray wash for the central scene, and pen and black ink with gray wash for the decorative frame, the piece exemplifies the graphic precision characteristic of early 18th-century Swiss book illustration. The illustration depicts a biblical narrative set within a lush garden landscape, featuring a group of figures in period attire gathered near a prominent palm tree and various plants.

A castle situated on a hill rises in the background, establishing a sense of depth and setting. The composition is enclosed by an elaborate border design filled with floral and fruit motifs, typical of the ornamental style used to frame scriptural scenes in this publication. Füssli, known for his extensive work in engraving and illustration, produced these designs to accompany the text of the Copper Bible, a significant religious publication of the era.

This work reflects his role in visualizing biblical stories for a broad audience, combining narrative clarity with decorative elegance.

Subject & Meaning

The central vignette depicts a small group of figures in an imagined garden set against a gentle hill. The figures, dressed in period costume, are positioned near cultivated plants and a solitary palm tree, while a distant castle crowns the horizon, suggesting a harmonious blend of nature, architecture, and human activity.

Technique & Style

Füssli employed fine pen work to render both the interior scene and the surrounding frame. The border is densely populated with miniature motifs, birds, vines, flowers, and fruit, arranged in a symmetrical, baroque rhythm that emphasizes decorative richness and the tactile quality of the copper‑plate medium.

History & Provenance

The drawing was produced as a preparatory design for the Kupfer‑Bibel, an early 18th‑century illustrated Bible printed on copper plates. It entered the Cleveland Museum of Art’s holdings through acquisition in the mid‑20th century, where it remains a representative example of Swiss book illustration from the period.

Context

Füssli’s work reflects the broader baroque aesthetic that favored elaborate ornamentation and dynamic compositions in religious publications. The integration of narrative illustration with an ornate border illustrates the period’s aim to enhance devotional texts with visual splendor, aligning spiritual content with artistic grandeur.