Karyatide 1803 - 1886

Albert Küchler made this drawing of a caryatid. He was a Danish artist who lived in Rome for many years. This artwork is an image of a classical sculpture. Caryatids are female figures used as architectural supports. The most famous examples are on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Küchler and many other Northern European artists travelled to Italy and Greece to study classical art and architecture. These artists saw classical antiquity as a high point of civilization. They thought that their own societies could be improved by copying classical models. This idea was a core tenet of the Neoclassical movement. The art institutions of the 19th century encouraged artists to go to Italy and Greece. They provided funding and exhibition opportunities for them. Examining these institutional histories can help us to better understand the social and cultural context in which the artwork was made. Researching the archives of art academies, exhibition reviews and artists' biographies might tell us more. We can see how classical antiquity was a crucial reference point in 19th-century Europe.