Henri Fantin-Latour
French, 1836-1904
Tannhäuser: Venusberg
INV-4401
Henri Fantin-Latour
French, 1836-19041876
Tannhäuser: Venusberg
Henri Fantin-Latour French, 1836-1904 →lithographprint
Date
1876
Medium
Lithograph in black with scraping on stone on grayish-ivory chine laid down on thick ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 40.9 × 50.2 cm (16 1/8 × 19 13/16 in.); Primary sheet: 41 × 50.5 cm (16 3/16 × 19 15/16 in.); Secondary sheet: 49.8 × 59.8 cm (19 5/8 × 23 9/16 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
The Art Institute of Chicago
Richard Wagner's opera Tannhaüser was first interpreted by Henri Fantin-Latour in 1862. This second revised version of Venusberg was Fantin-Latour's first attempt at transfer lithography, a printing method in which the artist's drawing is transferred directly onto a lithographic stone. Here, Tannhaüser is depicted in Venus's realm of sensual delights. Nymphs dance to the music of a flute player, and Venus reclines upon Tannhaüser's lap, gazing passionately into his eyes.
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