Tomb of the Virgin Mary: An Early 19th C. Aquatint after a Luigi Mayer Drawing, 1802

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"Tomb of the Virgin Mary", Pl. 10 in Luigi Mayer's publication 'Views in Egypt, Palestine, and Other Parts of the … Read more "Tomb of the Virgin Mary", Pl. 10 in Luigi Mayer's publication 'Views in Egypt, Palestine, and Other Parts of the Ottoman Empire', published by Robert Bowyer in London in 1803. This hand-colored aquatint and etching was created by Thomas Milton after a drawing by Luigi Mayer. The scene depicts multiple middle eastern people, including pilgrims, at prayer in brick structure believed to be the tomb of the Virgin Mary, located at the foot of the Mount of Olives, in Jerusalem. The area is lighted by oil chandeliers, which create long shadows. The inhabitants are mostly men, with occasional women, all of which are barefoot.

This Mayer print is printed on wove paper with wide margins. The sheet measures 12.38" high and 18.25" wide. It is in excellent condition, other than a short repaired tear at the edge of the left margin a two small spots of smudges in the left margins and one in the right margin.

Luigi Mayer's prints and paintings are held by many museums, including The British Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Gallery, The Chicago Art Institute and The Yale Center for British Art.

Reference: B. Llewellyn, 'Luigi Mayer-Draughtsman to His Majesty's Ambassador at the Ottoman Porte', The Magazine for the International Collector of Watercolours, Drawings and Prints', vol. V, No. 4, 1990, pp. 9-13.

Luigi Mayer (1755–1803) was an Italian-German artist, who travelled extensively through the Ottoman Empire between 1776 and 1794. He became famous for his sketches and paintings of panoramic landscapes of ancient sites from the Balkans to the Greek Islands, Turkey and Egypt, often focussing on the inhabitants, as well the ancient monuments and the Nile. Mayer was a close friend of Sir Robert Ainslie, 1st Baronet, who was the British ambassador to Turkey between 1776 and 1792. The majority of Mayer's paintings and drawings during this period were commissioned by Ainslie. Ainslie's massive collection was eventually donated to the British Museum, providing British people valuable insight into the Middle East of that period. See less