Romantic Circles Gallery
Gallery Editors:
Theresa M. KelleyJacob Leveton
 In this drawing of a printing machine patented by “Messrs. Applegath and Cowper,” two men work at the press while one man operates a fly-wheel pulley system. The figure at the back of the machine... 1839 |
 A dandy has fainted and leans back in a chair with his limbs straight out, while three other dandies support him and a fourth closes a curtain. Beyond the curtain we can see a castrato opera singer... 11 1818 |
 This image depicts a death's-head moth on a white background, with wings outstretched. 1831 |
 Art historian Pramod Chandra describes this scene:
A lady, who has taken her seat opposite the craftsmen, is trying on bangles. The various tools of the trade are laid out before the man... 1800 |
 A crew rows their boat away from the viewer and towards the mouth of a river in lightly choppy seas. A man standing in back steers with the rudder oar. A sand beach extends on the left, while bluffs... Delineator: Back, Sir George 1836 |
 This plate offers seven profiles (or cross-sections) of fragments of the coast of north-west America, as if seen from a passing ship or small boat, which range from Cape Mendocino (the westernmost... Delineator: Skyes, J., Alexander, William 1798 |
 The poem’s narrator gazes upon the ruins of Pompeii and imagines what took place on the date of the eruption. The narrator describes a crowded street that is instantly engulfed in a cloud of ash... 1848 |
 George III is portrayed as Prospero the wizard in his long black cloak, holding a book bearing the words “justice” and “integrity” and a long, whip-like wand. He stands on a landmass labeled “Albion... 11 August 1798 |
 This image depicts the ruins of Hadleigh Castle, near Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. The two remaining towers of the castle stand in the left register of the picture place, a scrawny tree between them. In the... Engraver: Lucas, David 1832 |
 The river bends to the right, wrapping around bushes and a tree in the right foreground. To the left, more shrubbery and trees border a ruined house or manor. In the background, non-detailed, wooded... 1782 |
 c. 1816-17 |
 The Spectator implied by this design "is supposed to be in the Car of the Balloon, suspended above the Center of the View." From this vantage point, he/she looks down on a vast "Amphitheatre... 5 January 1786 |
 A large, stone head rests between other large, carved stone pieces and a tree. A male figure, clad in slacks, a coat, and a wide-brimmed hat sits in profile next to the stone head, staring off the... Delineator: Catherwood, Frederick 1843 |
 Preserving dried flowers and a scrap of wallpaper, this page is found in the album that was kept over many years by the salonnière and painter Elizabeth (Eliza) Aders. The pasted-in piece of... |
 The top image ("Fig. 1") depicts a brick, believed to be taken from the Tower of Babel. "Fig. 2" and "Fig. 3" each depict a canopic jar, or "canopus"; these were vases used by the ancient Egyptians... 1791 |
 A single large pyramid stands covered in vegetation, crowned by a small, exposed temple. The pyramid is surrounded by a variety of trees and bushes, and is fronted by a small clearing. Two men stand... Delineator: Norman, Benjamin Moore 1843 |
 1793 |
 A schematic drawing shows the two halves of Burford’s Description of a View of the Great Temple of Karnak and the Surrounding City of Thebes: the top half depicts the Karnak Temple as a... 1839 |
 On this album page, a hand-colored engraving images three kinds of flowering plants. Miniscule numbers are placed beside each of three, with the numbers keyed to the plants’ names and their... |
 Three men in white wigs with shawls over their heads gaze contemplatively at the moon from a bank of dark clouds. The moon is made up of two faces: the light side is smiling, while the dark side is... 1791 |
 In the immediate foreground of the picture plane is a herd of sheep. The sheep are reclining on the ground in manner that suggests that they have either been struck dead or are sleeping. Only several... Engraver: Wallis, Robert 1829 |
 A young, nude boy is depicted against a dark background in a bust medallion. Two cornucopias entwine above his head, spilling forth fruit and foliage as a border around the frame. Below is a smaller... 1807 |
 Dr. Syntax sits on his horse at the center of the engraving, holding an open sketchbook and pen; an open umbrella appears to be tucked under his arm. A local fisherman and his dog stand behind him;... 1 May 1812 |
 The image shows a man sitting up in bed, lifting one hand, as if explaining something. Clothes are drawn in an elaborate fashion with a close attention to such details as buttons and wrinkles. The... 1818 |
 Gilded pages of Grellmann's Dissertaion on the Gipseys (London, 1807). 1807 |
 Two canopied beds lie perpendicular to one another in a small room. A candle on the table between them illumines the room. A portly figure lies in the bed on the left and points toward the figure... 1765 |
 In the near center of the image, slightly to the right, a stern, sad woman is depicted, holding on to a walking stick and pointing to the sky with her left hand. On her left, a woman with an... 1 August 1803 |
 1786 |
 The two remaining towers of Hadleigh Castle stand in the left register of the picture plane. A single scrawny tree grows between the decaying stone edifices. The surrounding hillside is completely... Engraver: Lucas, David 1830 |
 “Plate No. 32 Optics” features thirty-four color illustrations which refer to a range of scientific diagrams and to popular knowledge on the general topic of optics. This variety of illustrations... Delineator: Emslie, John 10 December 1850 |
 Figures 1 and 2 depict two small hummingbirds, each of which appear to be either plummeting from a height or flying at a downward angle. The large bird below them, figure 4, is a Bird of Paradise,... 1791 |
 The woman depicted is named, like the image, by her work: “the fruit seller.” The fruit seller stands in the foreground, leaning against the pole of a stand, her breasts exposed and her head lowered... Engraver: Woodman, Richard 1835 |
 This print is taken from the final plate of the pamphlet, and depicts in eleven figures the proposed mechanism of the chess player. The figures do not represent a chronological progression, but... 1826 |
 A girl is sitting on a large grave in a cemetery, looking down. Behind her a large tree is depicted, a few tombstones, and a church. From beyond a fence bordering one side of the churchyard, a woman... 1834 |
 An obese and rosy Lady Emma Hamilton in a white nightgown and nightcap sits up in her bed with arms and legs splayed outward, pushing the sea-foam green curtains of the canopy back. Her gaze is... Delineator: Gillray, James 6 February 1802 |
 The illustration depicts a man sleeping in bed with his mouth open; he wears a nightcap, and only his face is visible above the covers. A miniature sultan, with a dark visage and an immense moustache... 1836 |
 This engraving appears as a full-page plate accompanying R. S. Kirby’s description of Merlin’s biography and famous inventions and automata. It depicts an oval bust portrait of John Joseph Merlin... Delineator: Harding, George Perfect 3 July 1803 |
 “To the right, the keelmen and the dark, flat-bottomed keels that carried the coal from Northumberland and Durham down the River Tyne are silhouetted against the orange and white flames from the... 1835 |
 This image uses scientific diagrams to depict sound waves and vibrational patterns. The specific phenomena depicted by the various figures and the import of these depictions are discussed at length... 1800 |
 The art historian Pramod Chandra describes this miniature as follows:
[T]he man, seated on a chair, listens to a group of musicians squatting on a striped blue carpet. He is attended by... 1870 |
 Satan and Jesus are silhouetted on the right at the edge of a cliff. A serpent hangs from a cliff on the left. Cities and rivers are revealed far below them, from the bottom of the print to about 2/3... Illustrator: Turner, Joseph Mallord William 1835 |
 This map of Vesuvius is color-coded to indicate the various routes of lava flows traced during Vesuvius’ major eruptions from 1631. Palo, the larger cone, is marked with every lava flow (colored red... 1833 |
 The ruins of an elaborate entrance to the Palace at Madurai dominate the left register of the picture plane. Intricate stonework and molding decorates the inside of the edifice, while the outside is... Engraver: Daniell, William c. 1797-98 |
 The scene of this print is a butcher’s establishment, understood as the shop and residence of the Marrowfat family. In the center of the scene, the butcher’s daughter sits by the fire playing a lute... c. 18th century |
 A viscountess sits between a portrait of a peasant woman breastfeeding a baby, the frame of which reads “Maternal Love,\" and a window revealing a carriage waiting outside, its attendant holding its... Delineator: Gillray, James 15 February 1796 |
 1826 |
 The frame is split between a rocky shore bordering an icy sea and an expanse of gray sky, with clouds scudding low on the horizon. Five people sit around a pot on an outcropping of rock to the far... Delineator: Back, Sir George 1836 |
 Two dark figures stand near a canoe in the front right foreground. Far behind them is an empty town at the base of Mount Vesuvius. The volcano emits swirling grey smoke which covers the top three... 1823 |
 In the corner of a room, five men examine the paintings hung on the two visible walls. On the right, a coarse figure identified at Mr. Mortimer, an art dealer and restorer, spits on one of the... 16 November 1807 |
 Page thirty-two displays eight views from the ruined ground of Pevensey Castle. All images are black and white wood prints. Editor: Knight, Charles c. Early 19th century |
