Allegory of Spring (Allegorie des Frühlings)

1810/1831

Christian Friedrich Sprinck after Philipp Otto Runge

Associated Names
Christian Friedrich Sprinck

Artist, German, 1769 - 1831

Philipp Otto Runge

Artist After, German, 1777 - 1810

Two panels depict richly detailed allegorical scenes. The left panel features a central female figure seated on elaborate scrollwork resembling a cloud and floral throne. Above float two cherubic figures, one holding a globe and the other offering a laurel. Below sit two cherubic figures surrounded by plants and fruits. The right panel shows a monumental female figure on an elevated throne, surrounded by cherubic figures. She gestures with one hand, with a radiating sun and celestial globe above her. Symbolic objects like a skull, a mask, and an urn lie at her feet, set on a patterned floor. The panels are framed with intricate decoration, and a central column divides them, displaying celestial motifs like the sun, moon, and stars.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching on wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed within platemark): 11.8 × 18.5 cm (4 5/8 × 7 5/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.9133


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Ernst Friedrich Georg Otto von der Malsburg (1786-1824), Kassel & Dresden (Lugt 1849bis). Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Inscriptions

recto: in plate, above image, at center: VII; in plate, in image, at right [on cloth on steps]: PHILIP OTTO RUNGE.FECIT.MDCCCX.; in plate, below image, at center: Sprinck Sc. Dres.; verso: at lower left in graphite in later hand: 1142A

Markings

recto: none; verso: Ernst Friedrich Georg Otto von der Malsburg (Lugt 1849bis) and National Gallery of Art

Wikidata ID

Q65024350