Item #23655 Apotheosis of the fine arts, and authentic portraits of masters in painting, sculpture, and architecture. : A new and beautiful photographic impression of the great picture, by Paul Delaroche, on the semicircular wall in the amphitheatre of the School of the Fine Arts, at Paris; : together with a well-executed portrait of the artist. : Also a prospectus of the Goethe Gallery. : Price, $7.50 per copy. (Five plates, including key and portrait.). Second edition. Paul Delaroche.

Apotheosis of the fine arts, and authentic portraits of masters in painting, sculpture, and architecture. : A new and beautiful photographic impression of the great picture, by Paul Delaroche, on the semicircular wall in the amphitheatre of the School of the Fine Arts, at Paris; : together with a well-executed portrait of the artist. : Also a prospectus of the Goethe Gallery. : Price, $7.50 per copy. (Five plates, including key and portrait.). Second edition.

Boston: Published by Frederick Ebbinghaus, no. 1 Haymarket Place, corner of Avery Street 1861. Second Edition. 31 pages plus printed cover wrappers. Tan printed wrappers. LOC surplus stamp on front wrapper and portions of a similar stamp on rear wrappers. Upper corner appears to have been bent in the past, and several pages internally have nearly loose corners (not affecting textblock). Minor chipping to extremities. Publisher information is the "title page". Both this imprint and the front cover have had their addresses marked out and replaced with "129 Harrison Avenue" in ink. Front wrapper original printed street was No. 33 Essex Street. So it is rather interesting that during a single year (1861 presumably) this publisher had 3 addresses! Although the front wrappers notes there are five plates including key and portrait, there are none (and no indication that this edition was published with any). Good. Wraps. [23655]


This pamphlet is an advertising piece for a photographic impression of a "Description and Analysis of Paul Delaroche's Hemicycle" as well as a prospectus of the Goethe Gallery (Second edition). Wikipedia describes the Hemicycle thus: "In 1837 Delaroche received the commission for the great picture that came to be known as the Hémicycle, a Raphaelesque tableau influenced by The School of Athens. This was a mural 27 metres (88.5 ft) long, in the hemicycle of the award theatre of the École des Beaux Arts. The commission came from the École's architect, Félix Duban. The painting represents seventy-five great artists of all ages, in conversation, assembled in groups on either hand of a central elevation of white marble steps, on the topmost of which are three thrones filled by the creators of the Parthenon: architect Phidias, sculptor Ictinus, and painter Apelles, symbolizing the unity of these arts.

To supply the female element in this vast composition he introduced the genii or muses, who symbolize or reign over the arts, leaning against the balustrade of the steps, depicted as idealized female figures. The painting is not fresco but done directly on the wall in oil. Delaroche finished the work in 1841, but it was considerably damaged by a fire in 1855. He immediately set about trying to re-paint and restore the work, but died on 4 November 1856, before he had accomplished much of this. The restoration was finished by Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury."

This fits nicely with the theme of the Goethe Prospectus, for "Goethe's Gallery" of female characters, available for the mere price of 105 dollars in 1861! A subscriber's list is provided in the front.

5 copies in OCLC as of 11/2014. (OCLC 27309951 plus American Antiquarian Society).

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