Morning

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Morning

1803-1805

Philipp Otto Runge (German, 1777–1810) Plate etched by Johann Gottlieb Seyfert (German, 1761–1824)

The series of delicate arabesque designs known as the Times of Day was the masterpiece of Runge’s short career. The artist conceived the project in 1802 as a set of four large paintings for display in a garden pavilion, but he had barely managed to finish the painted panel for Morning by the time of his death in 1810. Morning is part of the only completed version of the cycle -- a set of four large etchings meticulously executed by a team of professional printmakers in Dresden working from Runge’s full-scale preparatory drawings.

The four enigmatic images depict various cycles of life, from morning to night, spring to winter, and birth to death. Each is a combination of religious allegory and nature images, which viewers have found to be both astonishing and baffling.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Titles:

Morning
From the series Times of Day, or Four Seasons

Date:

1803-1805

Artists:

Philipp Otto Runge (German, 1777–1810) Plate etched by Johann Gottlieb Seyfert (German, 1761–1824)

Medium:

Etching and engraving

Dimensions:

Plate: 28 x 18 7/8 inches (71.1 x 47.9 cm) Sheet: 28 1/2 x 19 1/4 inches (72.4 x 48.9 cm)

Classification:

Prints

Credit Line:

125th Anniversary Acquisition. Purchased with the Lola Downin Peck Fund and the Carl and Laura Zigrosser Collection (by exchange), The James D. Crawford and Judith N. Dean Fund, and with funds contributed by The Judith Rothschild Foundation, Marilyn L. Steinbright, The Henfield Foundation, Mildred L. and Morris L. Weisberg, Mr. and Mrs. John J. F. Sherrerd, Audrey and William H. Helfand, Harvey S. Shipley Miller and J. Randall Plummer, Marion Boulton Stroud, George M. Cheston, Peter Benoliel, Joseph A. O'Connor, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. M. Todd Cooke, and Helen Cunningham and Theodore T. Newbold, 2001

Accession Number:

2001-94-1

Geography:

Made in Dresden, Germany, Europe

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