Dante and Virgil Riding on the Back of Geryon

c. 1821

Joseph Anton Koch

Associated Names
Joseph Anton Koch

Artist, Austrian, 1768 - 1839

This is an illustration showing figures riding a creature and a group of people engaged in a scene. Two figures are atop a mythical creature resembling a dragon with spiral details. The figures are dressed in flowing garments and appear to be in motion as they ride through clouds. Below them, a group of nude figures are shown in various poses, expressing movement and intensity. The drawing is filled with swirling lines that convey drama and tension.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and black ink over graphite on laid paper, fragments of graphite borderlines at top, left, and bottom

  • Credit Line

    Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, Patrons' Permanent Fund

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 38.3 x 30 cm (15 1/16 x 11 13/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2007.111.113

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Henry Aceland, England; (sold, Sotheby's London, 15 November 1973, no. 110). (Herner & Weingraf, London) 1974. Wolfgang Ratjen, Munich; purchased 2007 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1980

  • Dante-Vergil-Geryon: Der 17. Höllengesang der Göttlichen Komödie in der bildenden Kunst, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, 1980: 101, no. 36 and under no. 37, reprod. p. 83 (Christian von Holst).

1981

  • I Nazareni a Roma, Galleria Nazionale d’arte Moderna, Rome, 1981, no. VI, repro.

2010

  • German Master Drawings from the Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, 1580 - 1900, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2010: no. 60, under nos. 61, 66, 67, 86, and 87, repro.

2023

  • Going through Hell: The Divine Dante, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2023.

Bibliography

1985

  • Lutterotti, Otto R. von. Joseph Anton Koch. 1768 - 1839. Leben und Werk. Vienna and Munich, 1985: 364, no. Z 1102.

Wikidata ID

Q64591102

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