The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 16, 2025

The Lovers

c. 1490
(Bohemian)
(German, 1430-1530)
Germany
engraving
Image: 16.7 x 10.9 cm (6 9/16 x 4 5/16 in.); Sheet: 16.9 x 11.3 cm (6 5/8 x 4 7/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2010.262
Catalogue raisonné: Bartsch, vol. VI, pp. 336-37, no. 48; Lehrs, pp. 79-80, no. 68; Passavant, vol. 2, p. 134, no. 48
Location: not on view

Description

In this image, a man and woman sit facing one another; the woman casts her eyes down shyly as the man makes a tender touch, an invitation to love. This artist pared down a garden of love to an arbor with a low fence, a vase of flowers,
and a basin of water holding a jug of wine and cup. The love displayed in the garden is chaste, as intended. This is apparent by the wine in the water bath, suggesting cooled desire; the carnations in the vase, symbols of virginity; and the woman’s small dog, a sign of fidelity.
  • Grafen Maltzan, Militsch (Lugt 3024a)
    Nicholas Stogdon, Islip, Oxfordshire
    ?–2010
    Adrian Eeles, London, England, sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    November 29, 2010–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Love Gardens / Forbidden Fruit. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 2-October 29, 2023).
    Imagining the Garden. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 24, 2015-March 6, 2016).
    Treasures on Paper from the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 9-June 8, 2014).
  • {{cite web|title=The Lovers|url=false|author=Wenzel von Olmütz, Master of the Housebook|year=c. 1490|access-date=16 March 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2010.262