Romantic Circles Gallery
Gallery Editors:
Theresa M. KelleyJacob Leveton
A ship is tipped towards the viewer, almost completely submerged by a wave crashing over it. Only the main mast, part of a second mast, and a sliver of the deck rise above the tumultuous water. Men... Illustrator: Turner, Joseph Mallord William 1835 |
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 |
In this print, Corinthian Tom’s tailor, Mr. Primefit, has come to Corinthian House to fit Jerry Hawthorn for a new suit. Jerry stands in the center, his back to the viewer, while Mr. Primefit... Author: Egan, Pierce 31 August 1820 |
A broad expanse of river fills the foreground of the image, narrowing in the center ground and stretching away from the viewer. A rocky bluff—descending in steep gradations to the water's edge—fills... Delineator: Gilpin, William 1798 |
View of Broad-bottom Bridge 1794 |
Elizabeth Gunning sits astride a cannon in the front foreground of the print, the skirt of a golden dress flying toward her face and revealing her legs and undergarments, her arms thrown open and... Delineator: Gillray, James 5 March 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 |
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 |
Five pyramids and a stone-block building stand on a flat landscape, varied only by some small bushes and a few large rocks. The sky occupies a great portion of the picture: the clouds breaking at top... Delineator: Norman, Benjamin Moore 1843 |
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 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 |
"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... Author: Smith, Robert 1738 |
An antiquarian holds up his spectacles in his right hand to examine an object that resembles an Egyptian mummy. He stoops and holds a cane in his left hand, a tri-corner hat under his arm. He is... 1789 |
In a large green exhibition hall, a crowd gathers to attend the auction. Men and women sit on benches in the middle of the room: most face the auctioneer standing in the rostrum, though some converse... Delineator: Pugin, Augustus Charles, Rowlandson, Thomas 1808 |
Various ships are visible in the distance, and one ship in full sail sits directly beyond the coastal waters. Three poles emerge from the sea in the left foreground, indicating the shoreline; the... 1823 |
c. Early 19th century |
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 |
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... Author: Sigourney, Lydia Howard Huntley 1834 |
A jagged icy cliff on the left descends to a pool of water; beyond these immediate ice formations, a plain of ice or water extends to the far horizon, where more cliffs rise against building clouds.... Delineator: Back, Sir George 1828 |
1795 |
View of Mottram depicts the village of Mottram in Cheshire. 16 July 1794 |
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... Author: Thomson, David Purdie 1841 |
The art historian Pramod Chandra gives a description of Studies of European Figures, quoted below:
[A] study sheet shows four European figures, one of them seated on a chair and... 1850 |
Two men attempt to haul a boat (one other man inside) to shore in a storm. A variety of ships out to sea appear lashed by the wind and waves. To the right of the image there is a house on the shore... 1823 |
A view of the ruins of Tintern Abbey. Editor: Knight, Charles 1845 |
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 work offers a view of the large group of Alutiiq Indians, carried by a fleet of canoes, who were encountered by Captain George Vancouver and his fleet at Port Dick, Alaska, on 16 May 1794. The... Delineator: Humphreys, H., Alexander, William Author: Vancouver, George 1798 |
The image depicts a broad, flat plain, interrupted at its further end by a grey body of water. In the distance, a low mountain range looms in vague, dark contours against the sky, nearly touching the... 1792 |
The empress of the moths, a saturnia pavonia minor, perches on a leaf. She is reading her visitor's book. The emperor, a male of the same species, sits on the branch facing her. To their left, in the... 1831 |
This image gives a view of a fork in the road, along which pedestrians and carriages travel. The road is lined with two-story buildings; hanging meat in a window and large signs suggest a commercial... Author: Repton, Humphry Collaborator: Repton, John Adey 1 February 1816 |
In this etching, a young woman and man who are courting make music together. The woman plays a harp and leans over to read the music from the music book that the young man is holding. They both... 1805 |
A man sits while a woman examines his head. The right side of the image shows a mapped skull placed on a table. 1826 |
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 image portrays three ships and a row boat, presumably transporting the pilot to the central frigate. The ocean is rough with small waves, and the sails of the ships billow with wind. Both the... 1797 |
This image, Plate 18 of Bell's illustrations, depicts the semicircular canals of the ear. Bell further describes the image: "The cochlea is named by its similitude to the shell of a snail. It is the... 1830s |
This image, Plate 17 of Bell's illustrations, depicts the three small bones of the ear. Bell describes it as such:
The natural size of these bones is shown in Fig. 1 Plate 17, (the... c. 1830s |
These five figures explicate the construction of a device which, using catoptrical mirrors, project optical illusions. Figures 1 and 2 portray the device itself, while Figures 3 through 5 explain the... Author: Guyot, Edme-Gilles 1775 |
A woman travels through a landscape with two children: an infant held to her back in a shawl, and a young child who stands beside her and holds the hem of her cloak. The woman has long hair and a... Author: Grellmann, Heinrich Moritz Gottlieb 1807 |
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 |
Here, on one of the four engraved and hand-colored pages interspersed among the blank pages of the Floral Album, the engraver has pictured a wreath of flowers formed from pink roses, blue... |
In the left register of the picture plane are the two remaining towers of Hadleigh Castle. Between the decaying stone edifices, underbrush and foliage have over-grown the crumbling ruins. In the... |
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 |
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 |
"Plate II" features seven illustrations to accompany Priestley’s text, including: a parabolic or burning mirror; a diagram of a convex lens used for magnification; a diagram of how light passes... Author: Priestley, Joseph 1772 |
Sir Joseph Banks’ journal entry depicts his and William Hooker’s arrival at Mount Helca’s main crater, Raud-Oldur. They stand in a green patch of vegetation to pitch their tents—one of the few areas... 1811 |
The "rout" (or boisterous throng) mentioned in the title of this hand-coloured etching, stretches from the left- to the right-hand side of the page, filling the lower-half of the design. It is... June 1823 |
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 |
The engraving depicts an Aeolian harp (the topmost image); it also includes several scientific diagrams indicating how the harp might function. Author: Jones, William 1781 |
The engraving depicts the lower room of the “Old Ashmolean” building at the University of Oxford. Various natural specimens, including a giraffe and a dodo, are evident, as well as two groups of... Delineator: Delamotte, William Alfred 1 December 1834 |