Henry Fuseli, R.A. (1741-1825)

Flora, surrounded by the Four Elements

Details

Henry Fuseli, R.A. (1741-1825)
Flora, surrounded by the Four Elements
pencil in an inscribed oval, watermark Pro Patria
9 3/8 x 7¼ in. (238 x 182 mm.)

Engraved

A. Smith as the frontispiece of Erasmus Darwin, Botanic Garden, published by J. Johnson, Saint Paul's Church Yard, London, June 1st 1791.

Lot Essay

This is a study for the vignette (140 x 93 mm.) in the frontispiece of the Botanic Garden (G. Schiff, Johann Heinrich Füssli, Zürich and Munich, 1973, no. 993). The composition depicts the seated goddess surrounded by allegories of the Four Elements. Fire is holding up the mirror to Flora, Air is blowing behind, Water is on the right with an amphora and Earth offers a basket of flowers to Flora. A gnome emerges from the earth in the foreground presenting the goddess with the new flower.

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