Worshippers at the Tomb of Saint Peter

1740/1741

Matthäus Günther

Associated Names
Matthäus Günther

Artist, German, 1705 - 1788

This is a painting of an architectural scene with decorative and religious elements. The painting features a grand interior setting, possibly a church or cathedral, dominated by ornate columns and a ceiling structure. Figures appear on pedestals atop the columns. In the background, there is a depiction of a religious or ceremonial space with detailed balustrades and steps, where figures are shown in dynamic poses. The color palette consists of warm golden hues contrasted with cooler grey tones, highlighting the intricate details of the architecture and figures. This is in the style of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    watercolor, gouache, and graphite over pen and brown ink, indented with a stylus, on pink-gray prepared paper, squared with graphite for transfer

  • Credit Line

    Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, Purchased as the Gift of Vincent and Linda Buonanno

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 48.2 x 36.2 cm (19 x 14 1/4 in.), trimmed to a roughly circular shape with ornamental lobes and angles
    image: 38 x 35.4 cm (14 15/16 x 13 15/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2007.111.13

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Baron von Freiherr von Freyberg-Eisenberg. (Kunsthaus Julius Böhler, Munich) in 1989. Wolfgang Ratjen, Munich; purchased 2007 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2010

  • German Master Drawings from the Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, 1580 - 1900, NGA, 2010: 19, no. 16.

2023

  • Looking Up: Studies for Ceilings, 1550-1800, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2023.

Bibliography

1995

  • Paula, Georg. "Nachträge zum Werk von Matthäus Günther (1705 - 1788). Eine kritische Zusammenfassung." Jahrbuch des Vereins für Augsburger Bistumsgeschichte 29 (1995): 233-234, abb. 85.

2010

  • Robison, Andrew. "German Drawings for the National Gallery of Art: The Wolfgang Ratjen Collection." NGA Bulletin, Spring 2010: 6-7, fig. 7.

Inscriptions

at bottom center in graphite: N 1026; at bottom right: J. C. Wengner 1774; on verso: Aus der Sammlung der Freiherrn v. Freyberg-Eisenberg

Watermarks

shield with bull's head and crown?

Wikidata ID

Q64608403

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