The Forum of Athens with Busts of Pericles and Lycurgus, Lithograph, 1842

An original antique lithograph, partially hand colored, from the Galleria Universale di Tutti i Popoli del Mondo (Venice, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1842). The upper image, lightly colored, shows a long colonnade of Corinthian columns under a beamed roof, receding to an arched opening, with a two story wall of paneled bays at right. In the foreground a man in a red jacket, red cap and full white trousers walks away from the viewer, and two small figures stand at the far end. The lower image, left largely uncolored, shows two portrait busts. At left a bearded man in a helmet pushed back on his head stands on a plinth lettered in Greek capitals that begin with the name of Pericles; a buff wash marks the ground beneath. At right is a bearded man with thick curling hair and a draped shoulder, the bust cut off below the chest and shown without a plinth. Both heads are drawn in soft gray tones that suggest marble.

The lettering reads "Tav 136" at upper left, "GRECIA" in the center and "Tom: IV" at upper right. The captions read "Foro di Atene" (Forum of Athens), "Pericle" (Pericles) and "Licurgo" (Lycurgus).

Pericles led Athens in the fifth century BC and is traditionally shown wearing a helmet, as in the well known Roman copies of his portrait. Lycurgus was the legendary lawgiver of Sparta.

The architectural view and the two classical heads make a good companion piece for a library or study.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.