Romantic Circles Gallery
Gallery Editors:
Theresa M. KelleyJacob Leveton
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... Author: Wilson, G.H. 1807 |
1786 |
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 |
View of Broad-bottom Bridge 1794 |
In the center background, a man-made structure—appearing, though distant, to be composed of walls and towers—crests an imposing promontory. To the right of this bluff a high, wooded hill rises to the... Delineator: Gilpin, William Author: Gilpin, William 1798 |
c. 1810 |
A large stone stela, facing forward, depicts a Maya deity decorated with myriad visual embellishments, its fists clenched upon its chest. The background depicts the small clearing in which the stela... Delineator: Catherwood, Frederick 1841 |
With church spires rising above it in the very center of the background, Bartholmew Fair is in full swing, crowded with people and chaos. Overflowing the square—with the hospital on one side, a... Delineator: Rowlandson, Thomas Author: Combe, William 1808 |
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 |
Three men face each other, with the central figure looking toward the viewer. Each man is distinguished by his exaggerated expression, unusual head shape, and the phrenological map that has been... Delineator: Cruikshank, George 1 August 1826 |
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 |
The art historian Pramod Chandra describes the subject of this image as follows:
A painter wearing a pince-nez and surrounded by vials of paint, brushes, and other tools is busy at work... 1800 |
“Plate II” presents two figures, both of which refer to a sedan-chair style camera obscura in which a person can comfortably sit. Figure 7 is a view of the interior of this alternative camera obscura... 1803 |
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 |
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... |
Dressed as nursemaids with patriotic ribbons, Prime Minister Henry Addington, Lord Hawkesbury, and Charles Fox gather around Britannia as an oversized baby squeezed into a crib, the top of which... Delineator: Gillray, James 4 December 1802 |
c. 1824-25 |
"Fig. 1" depicts a piece of coral shaped like a hand, while figure "2" features a glass tumbler that appears partially petrified. 1791 |
This image comes from a text called, Illustrations of Natural Philosophy, which depicts the many properties of air. The central images feature a rendering of all of the highest mountain ranges... 10 December 1850 |
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 |
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 |
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... |
Writing in Airopaidia: Containing the Narrative of a Balloon Excursion (1786), Thomas Baldwin describes this view as "taken in a high Field, at the End of Sutton-Causeway," while... Author: Baldwin, Thomas 5 January 1786 |
1824 |
This painting exists in two states: the first portrays the actual, "unimproved" prospect from the house at Tatton Park, as it was when Repton first visited the Park, on 8 Nov. 1791; the second... 1794 |
Delineator: Pugin, Augustus Charles, Rowlandson, Thomas 1808 |
“Plate XVII” features ten figures that accompany a section of the text discussing optical illusions and tricks. Figures 52 and 53 depict an illusion using decanters of water and a concave mirror.... Author: Hutton, Charles, Ozanam, Jacques 1803 |
Dr. Syntax is in the center of the print, sitting on an overturned washtub and drawing in his sketchbook. In front of him to the left are a bevy of farm animals, including Syntax’s own donkey,... Author: Combe, William 1 May 1812 |
Engraver: Rooker, Edward, Rooker, Michael Angelo 1775 |
The image depicts a hairless head, with numbers mapped upon the exposed skin and face, indicating the location of the organs. The corresponding text identifies which characteristic or faculty is... Author: Fowler, Orson Squire 1847 |
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 |
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 |
Dr. Syntax visits the home of a Lord for dinner. Seated in large chairs around a large circular table are three other men, one of which is Sir John as the accompanying text names. They are all well... Delineator: Rowlandson, Thomas Author: Combe, William 1 May 1812 |
A bank of thick clouds hovers over the standing stones, with sunlight shining through to illuminate the center of the monument. A flock of sheep grazes in the foreground on the course grass, some... Engraver: Wallis, Robert 1829 |
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 |
This picture shows Henry Kirke White as a boy, reading from a book held in the lap of an older woman. A cat sits near their feet. There are three other children to the woman's right, two of whom are... 1818 |
A woman with loose hair in a flowing costume sits on a grassy ledge. In one hand she carries an empty palate and several paintbrushes; with the other she uses a brush to take pigment from the rainbow... 1780 |
A man sits while a woman examines his head. The right side of the image shows a mapped skull placed on a table. 1826 |
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 |
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 |
This image corresponded to the scene depicted in “A Balloon Prospect from above the Clouds,” which was to be inserted on the facing page. The intention was that this print could be used to provide a... 5 January 1786 |
“Plate 16” features nine figures which illustrate devices used to create optical illusions. Three of the colored figures depict different forms of magic lanterns and how they are operated in order to... Author: Guyot, Edme-Gilles 1775 |
1819 |
This image depicts a battle between the French and the Austrians. The Austrians are situated primarily on the left side of the bridge while the French are on the right. The Austrians are wearing... Delineator: Cruikshank, George Author: Combe, William 28 November 1814 |
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 |
1803 |
c. 1800 |
1824 |
Light brown cliffs, partially cloaked in dark green plant life, take up most of the left half of the painting. Near the center of the piece two small boats work their way along the river, which... 1844 |
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... Author: Gilpin, William 1800 |