Stage Design: A Sepulchral Vault

c. 1820

Karl Friedrich Schinkel

Associated Names
Karl Friedrich Schinkel

Artist, German, 1781 - 1841

This is a painting of an architectural interior featuring a monumental structure. The scene depicts a grand interior space with towering support beams and architectural elements reminiscent of classical design. Central to the image is a large sculpted pedestal adorned with relief carvings and statues, seemingly placed within an expansive hall or chamber, with the ceiling supported by a series of arches and trusses. Natural or artificial lighting highlights parts of the sculpted figures. The muted color palette and architectural focus suggest an emphasis on the structural majesty of the space. This is in the style of Giovanni Battista Piranesi.

Media Options

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Artwork overview


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Seiferheld and Co., New York; William B. O'Neal [1907-1994], Charlottesville, VA, April 1970; gift to NGA, 1991.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1973

  • Master Drawings from the Collection of William B. O'Neal, Walter Cecil Rawls Museum, Courtland, VA and tour, 1973-1975.

1993

  • Drawings from the O'Neal Collection. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1993, 24.

1996

  • Drawings from the O'Neal Collection, Georgia Museum of Art, The University of Georgia, Athens, 4 May-16 June, 1996.

Bibliography

1975

  • "Drawings for Theater and Architecture: A Special View of a Noted Virginia Collection of Master Drawings," Arts in Virginia, 15 (Spring 1975), 2, 4 (illus.).

  • "Master Drawings in the O'Neal Collection, Downtown Gallery, March 26-April 25," Virginia Museum Bulletin, 35 (March 1975): 4.

Inscriptions

by later hand, lower right verso in graphite: 10

Wikidata ID

Q64591868

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