Romantic Circles Gallery
Gallery Editors:
Theresa M. KelleyJacob Leveton
 A phrenologist, identified as J. De Ville, places his right hand on the forehead of a young man who is kneeling at the center of the image. A well-dressed woman, probably the young man’s mother,... 4 February 1826 |
 1778 |
 This image provides multiple illustrations of skulls and famous busts, providing measurements for each by which organ size can be determined. Note especially the famous political figures, as well as... 1847 |
 "Plate 57" features seven illustrations to accompany Book III of A Compleat System of Opticks, which describes the science behind a variety of optical and image-making machines, including a... 1738 |
 A young man, seated with a long rifle on a rock, wears a dark jacket and light trousers. A horn is strung around his neck and a brimmed hat lies at his side. He is addressed by a woman with a large... 1807 |
 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 |
 This scene is depicted from the low perspective of a river. In the right foreground, two trees extend their branches over the river. A structure with arched openings sits on the opposite bank; this... 1800 |
 Within a rocky landscape is situated a large, cave-like dwelling constructed of leaves and branches. Six adult figures and two small children sit or squat around a smoky fire, while two additional... 1807 |
 The four-stepped, low-rising Pyramid of Cholula, covered in sparse vegetation, stands in a flat valley, surrounded by distant mountains. A stairway leads up from the base of the pyramid to the small... Delineator: Humboldt, Alexander von 1816 |
 This image depicts a confrontation between an American and a British ship, each displaying their national flag. The flag of the British ship, on the left, is upside down. Both ships have tattered... 1831 |
 This image, which presented viewers with the image of a boy riding an enormous eagle high above a sea coast, above the title “The Art of Lying Burlesqued in an Account of A Wonderful Flight or... c. 1793 |
 The illustration in the bottom left corner of this image, Imitation and Approbation, features a caped man standing behind a table on a stage. In his hands he holds a skull marked by a... Delineator: Cruikshank, George 1 August 1826 |
 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 |
 Fielding’s "view" of the castle occurs at sunset, and is taken from the banks of a river flowing in the lower register of the painting. A large tree seems to grasp the right riverbank with its... 1816 |
 On a page located near the halfway point of an album that was kept between 1827 and 1841 by a Miss Catharine Eliza Lowe, several lines handwritten in black ink accompany a blue ribbon and a... |
 A man, apparently one of the “Esquimaux,” stands in the right quarter of the frame with a club on his shoulder, looking directly at the artist/viewer. He is on a beach. Against the foggy sky in the... Delineator: Back, Sir George 1828 |
 Lucifer and his fellow angels are cast out of Heaven, falling into a deep chasm with sheer rock walls textured by what appears to be tree roots. The chasm is illuminated by light from the opening... 1826 |
 The artists of the Royal Academy sit in a semicircle, in two tiers, with sketch pads and pencils, facing a female model posing nude on a stage. Most of the men look at the model, while others draw or... 1811 |
 The pyramid at El Tajín is shown in three-quarter view. It is a step-pyramid with six levels and a staircase leading from the ground to the top platform. The sky is blank over a completely flat... 1804 |
 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 |
 George IV, pictured as a guard, stands before a door, holding a pole with an evidence bag which reads "BEWARE of the Report of a BAD HOUSE." From the house's open window, Queen Caroline holds a torch... Delineator: Cruikshank, George 1820 |
 This print portrays Lord Byron as the quintessential Romantic poet. He sits in three-quarter view, his face turned in profile to the left and resting on his right hand in the archetypal thinking pose... Engraver: Longacre, James Barton 1841 |
 This image depicts an octave and variant systems of tuning, or "temperament." The octave is represented by the circumference of the circle. 1800 |
 At the piano, a young wife in a drooping bonnet plays the piano and sings with a wide open mouth. She rolls her eyes back, as if to ascertain whether her husband is listening, or perhaps to ensure... Delineator: Gillray, James 25 September 1805 |
 At the center of this page an unknown artist has painted in watercolor two pink roses growing from a single stem--one almost in full bloom, the other just beginning to bud—and entwined it... |
 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 |
 c. 1800 |
 c. 1829 |
 This line engraving depicts Cox’s Perpetual Clock, item number 47 in the Cox’s Lottery catalogue and one of Cox’s “star exhibit[s]” (Greater London Council 62). Much of the description of Cox’s... c. 1774-1775 |
 Two ships are portrayed in the center right of the image, a rowboat between them. The ship on the right is British, its flag displayed on the right side. It is more brightly colored and has more... 1783 |
 The two remaining towers of Hadleigh Castle stand in the left register of the picture plane. Underbrush and foliage have over-grown the crumbling ruins. In the lower left corner, a shepherd boy,... 1829 |
 1821 |
 Similar to the central figure of A Hindoo Female, the subject of The Rajpootnee Bride is initially striking on account her size; the female body fills the space of the image. The... Engraver: Woodman, Richard 1835 |
 1787 |
 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 |
 These scientific diagrams depict "vibrations in solid bodies," including rods and plates. 1830 |
 Lady Cecilia Johnstone is in profile, seated on a large golden chamber pot. Her brow is slightly furrowed and her gaze intensely focused. She rests her chin in her hand, her elbow propped upon her... Delineator: Gillray, James 19 September 1791 |
 The frame is vertically oriented and presents the viewer with an elevated perspective. A cliff on the left shadows the river, which moves down the left third of the image. Three men are pushing a... Delineator: Back, Sir George 1836 |
 Cliffs, presumably near New Weir (spelled “New Wear” in the title), stretch upward, taking up most of the left half of the print. In the foreground, at the foot of the cliffs, is a small house. A... Delineator: Cooper, Robert Bransby 1830 |
 The image is set in what appears to be a schoolroom. The master holds a stick above his head, preparing to give "strokes" to the young boy he grips by the elbow. The boy, dressed in a long coat and... 1829 |
 Dr. Syntax falls backward off his rocky seat into the water. Though his hat has fallen into the water, he still clutches his pen and journal: he has evidently been sketching the moss-covered ruins of... 1 May 1812 |
 Engraver: Daniell, Thomas 1795 |
 This chart provides the "average," "full," "large," "very large," "moderate," "small," and "very small" sizes of the organs measured in each phrenological category. 1847 |
 John Bull (indicated by the name on the chamber pot under his bed) sleeps under a grey blanket, surrounded by green curtains. His mouth is open as he snores. On his chest sits an impish official,... 13 August 1795 |
 c. 1800-01 |
 An undefined crowd that disappears into the foreground of the print batter Lady Archer and Lady Buckinghamshire, chained at the Pillory, with battered with eggs and mud. Both women don large feather... Delineator: Gillray, James 12 May 1796 |
 This foldout guide to the "Moving Diorama of Venice" is divided into three large panels showing a series of "highlight" views of Venice, as if seen from a passing gondola. Ignoring the distance that... 1841 |
 This image, Plate 13 of Bell's illustrations, depicts the ear without the skin. The numbers and their labels are given below: 1830s |
 360.—Richmond Castle, from the River Swale, placed in the bottom left corner of page eighty nine, depicts the castle as seen from the banks of the Swale river. A bridge extends from the... Editor: Knight, Charles c. Early 19th century |
 Dr. Syntax sits on the right-hand side of the back row in the pit, alongside a critic and a wit (Combe 223). He and his fellow theater-goers face the unfolding drama on the stage: two men battle over... Delineator: Rowlandson, Thomas 1 May 1812 |
