A Shepherd and Muses by a Waterfall Gm-00050901

Christoph Henrich Kniep (German, 1748–1825) In this imaginary classical landscape, Christoph Heinrich Kniep conveyed nature's superhuman might as a huge waterfall dwarfing the antique figures relaxing below. Kniep enhanced the waterfall's visual impact by framing it with a shaded arch of massive boulders; his paper's immense size also emphasizes the cascade's force.

Kniep spent most of his life in Italy, where he was influenced by the sun-drenched, idealized classical landscapes of his French predecessor Claude Lorrain. Yet Kniep overlaid Claude's legacy with the late 1700s concept of the Sublime, whose purpose was to inspire a noble and lofty awe by depicting powerful natural phenomena.

Despite the drawing's large scale, Kniep rendered each element with a precision achieved, no doubt, by the "sharpening and resharpening of the best English pencils" that Johann Wolfgang von Goethe had noted during their trip to Italy together in 1787 and 1788. Many of the detailed sketches Kniep made during the trip were the basis for his later, more finished, imaginary landscapes such as this one. Kniep's intense fascination with the vegetation is indicative of German Neoclassicists' burgeoning scientific interests.

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Our Giclée Prints are printed here in Switzerland, one at a time, on heavy matte German art paper using the finest 12-color Canon archival inks. Some images are panoramic or tall and narrow—please select the 18" x 36" format for these.

Our Premium Museum Frame in Black is custom-made in Lugano, Switzerland, using natural wood moulding in a matte black satin finish. Each includes thick, hand-cut white mat boards and Plexiglass glazing. We tailor and print each image to fit its specific ratio and dimensions within our custom-made frames. The hand-cut mats are extra thick. Each bespoke museum frame ships in a custom box. Rush shipping is available for projects with tight deadlines—this is our specialty, and you will not be disappointed.

Our Antiqued Museum Frame in Gold is a high-quality frame made of solid wood, featuring traditional 19th-century cast plaster moulded details and closed corners. These frames are works of art in themselves, each with a unique patina. The hand-rubbed corners and gold finish evoke the elegance of times past. Your selected image is printed on German art paper with archival inks and mounted to quality art board within the frame. Plexiglass is added for print protection and the back is covered with Kraft paper and a hanger is supplied ready to hang..

Our Stretched Canvas prints are hand-stretched over 1.25" thick pine bars and printed with archival inks on a cotton-poly matte finish canvas. These are best-in-industry Swiss-quality canvases, hand-coated for UV protection.

Wall Murals are printed on a matte-finish, self-adhesive poly/fabric material that mounts easily and is ideal for smooth wall surfaces.

Our Note Cards are amazing—each is printed individually on 100% cotton art paper, comes with a kraft envelope, and is individually sleeved. (Image is scaled to fit the format.)

All of our images are digitized from the original negative or print and printed by our master printer to museum standards.

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Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea GmbH.