Solomon Dedicates the Temple at Jerusalem
Tissot, James
Buy
Framed   Mounted

Born near Graz, Jo­hann Fis­cher was trained in the work­shop of his fa­ther, a provin­cial ar­ti­san, be­fore de­part­ing for Rome at the pre­co­cious age of 16. He spent the fol­low­ing six­teen years in Italy. In Rome he joined the work­shop of his fel­low Aus­trian Johann Paul Schor and of the great Bernini, who gave him am­ple op­por­tu­ni­ties to study both an­cient and mod­ern sculpture and ar­chi­tec­ture. He then moved to Naples, where he was re­ported to have amassed a con­sid­er­able for­tune serv­ing the Span­ish viceroy.

Back in Aus­tria in 1687, Fis­cher von Er­lach was in­stalled as a fash­ion­able and sought-after ar­chi­tect. Com­mis­sions were plen­ti­ful, as roy­alty and high­est ech­e­lons of aris­toc­racy sought to re­pair dam­age in­flicted on their coun­try res­i­dences by the Ottoman Turks in the course of their 1683 campaign. Fischer's un­der­stand­ing of an ur­bane Baroque id­iom ap­peared su­pe­rior to that preva­lent in Central Europe, and in 1687 he se­cured the key po­si­tion of court ar­chi­tect, which he would re­tain in the ser­vice of three emperors.
The Temple of Solomon, Jerusalem,
from "Entwurf Einer Historischen Architektur," 1721
Fischer Von...
Buy
Framed

Although Orientalism did not become a well-defined style until the 19th century, its roots can be traced to a general love of exotica in the 18th century. Artistic treatment of Eastern subjects took the form of charming, picturesque recordings of artists' travels through Eastern countries, with scenes clearly refined to suit the tastes of a European audience. Luigi Mayer 18th-century artist also ventured east.
 (c. 1755-1803), who travelled through the Ottoman Empire between 1776 and 1794, sketching and painting panoramic landscapes, ancient monuments, and the Nile and its surroundings.

Temple of Solomon, Plate 63 from "Views in the Ottoman Dominions," Published by Robert Bowyer 1810 
Mayer, Luigi
Buy