Artwork
The Fable of the Ass Who Envied the Rich Man’s Dog
The Fable of the Ass Who Envied the Rich Man’s Dog is a drawing by the Romanticist artist Wilhelm von Kaulbach. It dates from 1842 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Wilhelm von Kaulbach’s drawing titled The Fable of the Ass Who Envied the Rich Man’s Dog dates from around 1842 and is part of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s collection. Executed as a single sheet of drawing, the work illustrates a narrative scene set in an open courtyard, populated by several figures and an animal.
Subject & Meaning
A man seated on the ground grips a stick, while two other men, one approaching from the left and another crouching to the right, observe the animal.
The composition centers on an ass that has risen onto its hind legs, seemingly in a moment of agitation. A man seated on the ground grips a stick, while two other men, one approaching from the left and another crouching to the right, observe the animal. The setting, framed by arches, columns and distant palm trees, suggests a public space where the fable’s moral about envy and misplaced desire may be visualized.
Technique & Style
Kaulbach employs a finely worked line and nuanced shading to convey texture, movement, and the tension among the figures. The drawing’s expressive detail and dynamic arrangement align with Romantic sensibilities, emphasizing emotional intensity and dramatic storytelling through the artist’s hand.
History & Provenance
Created circa 1842, the drawing entered the Victoria and Albert Museum’s holdings at an unspecified date, where it remains catalogued as a representative example of Kaulbach’s narrative drawing practice during the mid‑ninteenth‑century Romantic period.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Wilhelm von Kaulbach was a German painter, noted mainly as a muralist, but also as a book illustrator. His murals decorate buildings in Munich. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting.
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