Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 2

Thomas Holloway
The Physiognomy - The Owl and the Peacock - Etching by Thomas Holloway - 1810

1810

$378.30
£284.82
€320
CA$522.11
A$584.88
CHF 304.21
MX$7,134.27
NOK 3,872.97
SEK 3,651.94
DKK 2,436.16

About the Item

The Physiognomy - The owl and peacock is an original etching artwork realized by Thomas Holloway for Johann Caspar Lavater's "Essays on Physiognomy, Designed to Promote the Knowledge and the Love of Mankind", London, Bensley, 1810. With the script on the rear. Good conditions. Johann Caspar Lavater was a swiss theologian and philosopher known throughout Europe for his studies on physiognomy. Following the physiognomy tradition of Della Porta and of many Renaissance and Baroque philosophers, he believed that the character of a person could be elucidated through examining their “lines of countenance" i.e. tracing a profile outline portrait. Being able to "read outside" was the key to "know the inside". Lavater's thought largely influenced Art in the late 18th and early 19th century, as in the case of Johann Fuseli and William Blake (who realized two etchings for Lavater's English edition of his Essay). Lavater was convinced that he could show his theories by analyzing the portraits of some of the main historical figures of the past, in some cases taken from paintings or (mainly for antiquity) sculptures. Some of the engravings in his volume, made by great masters of the time, are still considered today as graphic masterpieces.
  • Creator:
    Thomas Holloway (1748 - 1827, British)
  • Creation Year:
    1810
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 4.34 in (11 cm)Width: 3.55 in (9 cm)Depth: 0.04 in (1 mm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Framing:
    Framing Options Available
  • Condition:
    Insurance may be requested by customers as additional service, contact us for more information.
  • Gallery Location:
    Roma, IT
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: T-1246971stDibs: LU65038954982

More From This Seller

View All
The Birds - Original Etching by Thomas Holloway - 1810
By Thomas Holloway
Located in Roma, IT
The Physiognomy - The birds of animals is an original etching artwork realized by Thomas Holloway for Johann Caspar Lavater's "Essays on Physiognomy, Designed to Promote the Knowledg...
Category

1810s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Le Paon - Etching by Catherine Haussard - 1771
Located in Roma, IT
Le Paon is an etching realized by Haussard in 1771. Signed in plate. The artwork Belongs to the suite "Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière avec la d...
Category

1710s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

The Physiognomy - Etching by Thomas Holloway - 1810
Located in Roma, IT
The Physiognomy - The Rest By The Three is an original etching artwork realized by Thomas Holloway for Johann Caspar Lavater's "Essays on Physiognomy, Designed to Promote the Knowled...
Category

1810s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Great Owl - Etching by Johann Friedrich Naumann - 1840
Located in Roma, IT
Great Owl is an Etching hand colored realized by Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert - Johann Friedrich Naumann, Illustration from Natural history of birds in pictures, published by Stutt...
Category

1840s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Le Pigeon Nonain - Etching by Carl Guttenber - 1771
Located in Roma, IT
Le Pigeon Nonain is an etching realized by Carl Guttenberg in 1771. The artwork Belongs to the suite "Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière avec la ...
Category

1770s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Owls - Etching by Johann Friedrich Naumann - 1840
Located in Roma, IT
Owls is an Etching hand colored realized by Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert - Johann Friedrich Naumann, Illustration from Natural history of birds in pictures, published by Stuttgart ...
Category

1840s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

You May Also Like

Grey Peacock-Pheasant Hen: A 1746 Engraving by George Edwards
Located in Langweer, NL
Original Hand-Colored engraving from George Edwards' "A Natural History of Uncommon Birds," which was published in multiple volumes between 1743 and 1751. Specifically, the engrav...
Category

Antique 1740s Prints

Materials

Paper

Antique Bird Print of a Peacock by Manetti, 'circa 1770'
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique bird print titled 'Pavone della China maschio - Pavo Sinensis mas'. Beautiful copper engraving of a peacock. This print originates from 'Storia naturale degli Uccelli' by Sav...
Category

Antique Mid-18th Century Prints

Materials

Paper

Spectacle Owl, 18th century bird engraving by John Latham
By John Latham
Located in Melbourne, Victoria
Copper-line engraving. 1781. From John Latham's 'General Synopsis of Birds' 1781-1785, and its Supplements. Plate number top left. Laid paper with watermark. John Latham was the lea...
Category

Late 18th Century Naturalistic Animal Prints

Materials

Engraving

19th Century Ornithological Illustration of the Leschenault's Owl, 1838
Located in Langweer, NL
This illustration features an owl labeled "Hibou Leschenault," which is the Brown Fish Owl (Ketupa zeylonensis leschenaulti), a subspecies named in honor of the French naturalist Jea...
Category

Antique 1830s Prints

Materials

Paper

Antique Bird Print of a Male Pheasant and Nightjar by Mudie, 1835
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique bird print titled 'Male Pheasant, Goatsucker'. Bird print of the male pheasant and nightjar. This print originates from 'The Feathered Tribes of ...
Category

Antique 19th Century Prints

Materials

Paper

Hoopoe and Lyre Bird, bird engraving with original hand-colouring, 1849
Located in Melbourne, Victoria
'Passereaux. Dentirostres. 1. Le Roi des Gobe -Mouches ou Moucherolle a huppe transverse, Buff. (Muscicapa regia) 2. Menure lyre (Macnura lyra. Vieill) ' Steel-engraving with origin...
Category

Mid-19th Century Naturalistic Animal Prints

Materials

Engraving