Celadon and Amelia
1782
Look at the sheer panic on these faces! This dramatic scene captures a tragic moment from James Thomson's famous poem *The Seasons*. The couple, Celadon and Amelia, are caught in a violent storm, with the woman pointing in horror at a jagged bolt of lightning tearing through the sky while her lover clings to her. In the poem, this embrace is their last, as the lightning strikes them down—a perfect example of the Neoclassical fascination with the 'Sublime,' or nature's terrifying beauty. Angelica Kauffmann, a founding member of the Royal Academy, originally painted this, and the text at the bottom reveals it was engraved by Francesco Bartolozzi to make it a popular print for 18th-century art lovers.
- Technique
- Engraving
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