Martin Gropius Art

ARCHIV FUR ORNAMENTALE KUNST. M. Gropius, L. Lohde, P. Lehfeldt. Lithographs with Later Hand-Color. Berlin, 1870. 13” x 19” Unframed. A fine German work, the illustrations a...

ARCHIV FUR ORNAMENTALE KUNST. M. Gropius, L. Lohde, P. Lehfeldt. Lithographs with Later Hand-Color. Berlin, 1870. 13” x 19” Unframed. A fine German work, the illustrations a...

ARCHIV FUR ORNAMENTALE KUNST. M. Gropius, L. Lohde, P. Lehfeldt. Lithographs with Later Hand-Color. Berlin, 1870. 13” x 19” Unframed. A fine German work, the illustrations a...

ARCHIV FUR ORNAMENTALE KUNST. M. Gropius, L. Lohde, P. Lehfeldt. Lithographs with Later Hand-Color. Berlin, 1870. 13” x 19” Unframed. A fine German work, the illustrations a...

ARCHIV FUR ORNAMENTALE KUNST. M. Gropius, L. Lohde, P. Lehfeldt. Lithographs with Later Hand-Color. Berlin, 1870. 13” x 19” Unframed. A fine German work, the illustrations are of classical and neo-classical decorative designs. The acanthus leaf, Greco-Roman busts, mythical animals and ornamental relief show the preferred style of architectural ornament over the centuries and from country to country. A trick of the lithographer was to use the occasional solid ground to give better dimension to the plate. Measuring 19” x 13”, many designs include a scale to show actual size. Only two of the 72 illustrations were printed in full color, another pair in sepia tones, and six in burnt orange and black to show typical Etruscan designs. Several have toned backgrounds. It has been the fashion to apply hand coloring to black and white engravings and lithographs for centuries. The superb condition can be attributed to the individual paper guards placed between each plate. Many of the pieces illustrated are in museums; i.e. a Greek painted portrait medallion is preserved in the Classical Museum in Vienna (Plate 35) and the carved stone pedestal supports for a Roman table...