Eimmart: Aeneas and the Sibyl in the underworld

    This engraving shows Aeneas and the Sibyl in the forecourt of the Underworld.

    Aeneas mit der Sibylle im Vorhof der Unterwelt. (Suerbaum)

    Engraving from a German children’s picture-book version of the Aeneid by G. J. Lang and G. C. Eimmart, “A tapestry of Roman virtues as seen in Vergil’s Aeneas and his brave deeds, rendered in sparkling engravings, as illustrations of the remarkable deeds of antiquity, for the common benefit of noble youth,” (Peplus virtutum Romanarum in Aenea Virgiliano eiusque rebus fortiter gestis, ad maiorem antiquitatis et rerum lucem, communi iuventutis sacratae bono, aere renitens) (Nuremburg: J.L. Buggel, 1688), pl. 24.

    Comments

    At the entrance to the underworld in lines 275 through 281 Aeneas encounters “pale Disease,” “sad Old Age,” “Fear,” “seductive Fame,” “filthy Need,” “Death,” “Pain,” “Sleep,” “evil Pleasure of the mind,” “death-dealing War,” and “insane Discord, her hair of vipers tied up with bloody bands.” This last one is seen in the right foreground of the engraving clutching three snakes in one hand. Aeneas and the Sibyl are illuminated by an unknown source of light, while the figures she gestures to are invariably in the dark. (Lucy McInerney)

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    Date
    1688
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    Dimensions
    21.86x16.92cm
    Inscription
    Lib. VI. Aen: v. 273. Vestibulum ante ipsum, primusque in faucibus Orci/ Luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae:/ usque 282.
    Location
    Bavarian State Library, Munich
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    Eimmart: Aeneas brings the Golden Bough to the Sibyl

      Aeneas, kneeling with Achates in front of the Sibyl in the temple next to a cave, shows her the Golden Bough.

      Aeneas, zusammen mit Achates vor der Sibylle im Tempel nebeneiner Höhle kniend, zeigt ihr den Goldenen Zweig. (Suerbaum)

      Engraving from a German children’s picture-book version of the Aeneid by G. J. Lang and G. C. Eimmart, “A tapestry of Roman virtues as seen in Vergil’s Aeneas and his brave deeds, rendered in sparkling engravings, as illustrations of the remarkable deeds of antiquity, for the common benefit of noble youth,” (Peplus virtutum Romanarum in Aenea Virgiliano eiusque rebus fortiter gestis, ad maiorem antiquitatis et rerum lucem, communi iuventutis sacratae bono, aere renitens) (Nuremburg: J.L. Buggel, 1688), pl. 23.

      Comments

      Having found the Golden Bough with the help of Venus’ doves, Aeneas brings it to the Sibyl. She stands on the steps of her temple at Cumae, and the many caves of the Euboean cliffs makeup the background, as described at 42-43. (Lucy McInerney)

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      Date
      1688
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      21.86x16.92cm
      Inscription
      Lib. VI. Aen: v. 210. Corripit extemplo Aeneas, avidusque refringit/ Cunctantem, et vatis portat sub tecta Sibyllae.
      Location
      Bavarian State Library, Munich
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      Eimmart: Palinurus falls overboard

        Palinurus falls from the stern of a ship into the sea, the God of Sleep flies away with a branch in his hand.

        Palinurus stürzt vom Heck eines Schiffes ins Meer, der Schlafgott mit einem Zweig in der Hand fliegt davon. (Suerbaum)

        Engraving from a German children’s picture-book version of the Aeneid by G. J. Lang and G. C. Eimmart, “A tapestry of Roman virtues as seen in Vergil’s Aeneas and his brave deeds, rendered in sparkling engravings, as illustrations of the remarkable deeds of antiquity, for the common benefit of noble youth,” (Peplus virtutum Romanarum in Aenea Virgiliano eiusque rebus fortiter gestis, ad maiorem antiquitatis et rerum lucem, communi iuventutis sacratae bono, aere renitens) (Nuremburg: J.L. Buggel, 1688), pl. 22.

        Comments

        This engraving captures the moment in Book V when Palinurus falls headfirst from the ship. The god of sleep first tried to convince the helmsman to take a nap by imitating a friend (841-846). When that failed he used the branch that can be seen in his hand as he flies away, the leaves of which are drenched in water from the river Lethe. Virgil says, “ecce deus ramum Lethaeo rore madentem/ vique soporatum Stygia super utraque quassat/ tempora, cunctantique natantia lumina solvit.” (Lucy McInerney)

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        Date
        1688
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        Dimensions
        21.86x16.92cm
        Inscription
        Lib. V. Aen: v. 841. -- puppique Deus consedit in alta/ Phorbanti similis: fuditque has ore loquelas:
        Location
        Bavarian State Library, Munich
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        Brant: Vergil and Muse

          On the left, Vergil sits at an ornate lectern with a high-backed chair. While this is not explicitly in the poem, Vergil inserts himself in two places within the first several lines, with the first person verb cano in line 1, and then an appeal to the muse in lines 8-11. The Muse mentioned in line 8 stands in front of Vergil in the center of the image. In the lower right is the Judgment of Paris, which started the events leading up to the Trojan War; the event is mentioned in lines 26-7. Venus, Juno, and Pallas stand next to each other accompanied by their attributes; Paris gives the apple of discord to Venus, who reaches out her hand for it. Behind the three goddesses, Hebe gives Jupiter a cup. This detail comes from the commentary of Servius, who says that Hebe may have given to the gods the cups which Ganymede had the honor of bearing -'"honores' autem dixit vel propter ministerium poculorum, quod exhibuit diis remota Hebe, Iunonis filia" (1.28). Above them, Jupiter in the form of an eagle carries off Ganymede to make him cup-bearer (line 28). At the top of the image is Carthage, with the three Fates, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, sitting in front holding their attributes. Carthage is introduced in lines 12-22, with half a line devoted to the will of the Fates at line 22. The Muse in the center of the image gestures broadly toward Carthage, highlighting its significance (Katy Purington).

          Woodcut illustration from the “Strasbourg Vergil,” edited by Sebastian Brant: Publii Virgilii Maronis Opera cum quinque vulgatis commentariis expolitissimisque figuris atque imaginibus nuper per Sebastianum Brant superadditis (Strasbourg: Johannis Grieninger, 1502), fol. 121r, executed by an anonymous engraver under the direction of Brant.

          Comments

          Sebastian Brant (1458­­–1521) was a humanist scholar of many competencies. Trained in classics and law at the University of Basel, Brant later lectured in jurisprudence there and practiced law in his native city of Strasbourg. While his satirical poem Das Narrenschiff won him considerable standing as a writer, his role in the transmission of Virgil to the Renaissance was at least as important. In 1502 he and Strasbourg printer Johannes Grüninger produced a major edition of Virgil’s works, along with Donatus’ Life and the commentaries of Servius, Landino, and Calderini, with more than two hundred woodcut illustrations (Annabel Patterson).

          Following Vergil's words very closely, Brant gives Book One a prefatory panorama (fig. 10). The first person voice of the epic speaker which opens the poem is made explicit in the figure of Vergil himself writing to the dictation of the Muse that passage following upon "Musa mihi causas memora" which searches into the background of the brooding wrath of Juno that pursues the hero throughout the poem. The Muse's pointing finger indicates Carthage, whose future destruction by the offspring of Troy is known to the Fates, and also to scenes of old grudges strongly remembered: Jove's elevation of the Trojan Ganymede; the humiliating Judgment of Paris. This, then, is an exploration of Juno's mind within the convenience of a fictive landscape (Eleanor Winsor Leach).

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          1502
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          University of Heidelberg
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          Eimmart: Neptune and his attendants

            Neptune breaks his trip across the sea with his attendants.

            Neptun bricht mit Gefolge zur Fahrt über das Meer auf. (Suerbaum)

            Engraving from a German children’s picture-book version of the Aeneid by G. J. Lang and G. C. Eimmart, “A tapestry of Roman virtues as seen in Vergil’s Aeneas and his brave deeds, rendered in sparkling engravings, as illustrations of the remarkable deeds of antiquity, for the common benefit of noble youth,” (Peplus virtutum Romanarum in Aenea Virgiliano eiusque rebus fortiter gestis, ad maiorem antiquitatis et rerum lucem, communi iuventutis sacratae bono, aere renitens) (Nuremburg: J.L. Buggel, 1688), pl. 21.

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            Date
            1688
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            Dimensions
            21.86x16.92cm
            Inscription
            Lib. V. Aen: v. 820. Subsidunt undae, tumidumque sub axe tonanti/ Sternitur aequor aquis:
            Location
            Bavarian State Library, Munich
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            Eimmart: The Trojan fleet burns

              Aeneas hurries forward, the Trojan women having set fire to the ships; Iris is in the clouds in front of a rainbow with a torch in her hand.

              Aeneas eilt herbei, als die trojanischen Frauen Feuer an die Schiffe gelegt haben; in den Wolken vor einem Regenbogen Iris mit einer Fackel in der Hand. (Suerbaum)

              Engraving from a German children’s picture-book version of the Aeneid by G. J. Lang and G. C. Eimmart, “A tapestry of Roman virtues as seen in Vergil’s Aeneas and his brave deeds, rendered in sparkling engravings, as illustrations of the remarkable deeds of antiquity, for the common benefit of noble youth,” (Peplus virtutum Romanarum in Aenea Virgiliano eiusque rebus fortiter gestis, ad maiorem antiquitatis et rerum lucem, communi iuventutis sacratae bono, aere renitens) (Nuremburg: J.L. Buggel, 1688), pl. 20.

               

               

              Comments

              Iris, having incited the Trojan women to burn the ships, holds a burning torch and flies away in front of her telltale rainbow (657-658). Aeneas, wearing a long cloak, rushes forward towards his ships, which are all blazing. (Lucy McInerney)

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              Date
              1688
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              Dimensions
              21.86x16.92cm
              Inscription
              Lib. V. Aen: v. 658. Quum dea se paribus per coelom sustulit alis/ Ingentemque fuga secuit sub nubibus arcum/ usque 677.
              Location
              Bavarian State Library, Munich
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              Eimmart: The games in Sicily

                Aeneas sets out the prizes for the games.

                Aeneas stellt die Preise für die Wettspiele aus. (Suerbaum)

                Engraving from a German children’s picture-book version of the Aeneid by G. J. Lang and G. C. Eimmart, “A tapestry of Roman virtues as seen in Vergil’s Aeneas and his brave deeds, rendered in sparkling engravings, as illustrations of the remarkable deeds of antiquity, for the common benefit of noble youth,” (Peplus virtutum Romanarum in Aenea Virgiliano eiusque rebus fortiter gestis, ad maiorem antiquitatis et rerum lucem, communi iuventutis sacratae bono, aere renitens) (Nuremburg: J.L. Buggel, 1688), pl. 19.

                 

                 

                Comments

                Vergil describes this scene at 109-112: Munera principio ante oculos circoque locantur/ in medio, sacri tripodes viridesque coronae/ et palmae pretium victoribus, armaque et ostro/ perfusae vestes, argenti aurique talenta. In the central background the eye is drawn to four ships on the horizon, the four ships that take part in the race, Mnestheus’ Pristim, Gyas’ Chimaera, Sergestus’ Centaur, and Cloanthus’ Scylla, all described from lines 114 through 123. (Lucy McInerney)

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                Date
                1688
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                21.86x16.92cm
                Inscription
                Lib: V. Aen: v. 109. Munera principio ante oculos, cirocque locantur/ In medio: - -
                Location
                Bavarian State Library, Munich
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                Eimmart: Aeneas sacrifices at the tomb of Anchises

                  Aeneas sacrifices at the tomb of Anchises, a giant snake winds around the altar; there is horror in the spectators.

                  Aeneas opfert am Grabe des Anchises, eine riesige Schlange windet sich um den Altar; Entsetzen bei den Zuschauern. (Suerbaum)

                  Engraving from a German children’s picture-book version of the Aeneid by G. J. Lang and G. C. Eimmart, “A tapestry of Roman virtues as seen in Vergil’s Aeneas and his brave deeds, rendered in sparkling engravings, as illustrations of the remarkable deeds of antiquity, for the common benefit of noble youth,” (Peplus virtutum Romanarum in Aenea Virgiliano eiusque rebus fortiter gestis, ad maiorem antiquitatis et rerum lucem, communi iuventutis sacratae bono, aere renitens) (Nuremburg: J.L. Buggel, 1688), pl. 18.

                   

                   

                  Comments

                  Aeneas wears a myrtle wreath (72) as he retreats from the giant snake curled round the offerings at Anchises’ tomb. On the ground are rose petals (flores purpureosque, 79) and many dishes and vessels that had been holding Aeneas’ offerings of blood and milk (78). (Lucy McInerney)

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                  1688
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                  21.86x16.92cm
                  Inscription
                  Lib. V. Aen: v. 70. Cuncti adsint, meritaeque expectent praemia palmae:/ Ore favete omnes, et cingite tempora ramis.
                  Location
                  Bavarian State Library, Munich
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                  Eimmart: Dido's Suicide

                    Dido stabs herself on the funeral pyre and Iris flies to cut off a lock of her hair; around the pyre are lamenting women.

                    Dido ersticht sich auf dem Scheiterhaufen, Iris fliegt herbei, um ihr eine Locke abzuschneiden; ringsum klagende Frauen. (Suerbaum)

                    Engraving from a German children’s picture-book version of the Aeneid by G. J. Lang and G. C. Eimmart, “A tapestry of Roman virtues as seen in Vergil’s Aeneas and his brave deeds, rendered in sparkling engravings, as illustrations of the remarkable deeds of antiquity, for the common benefit of noble youth,” (Peplus virtutum Romanarum in Aenea Virgiliano eiusque rebus fortiter gestis, ad maiorem antiquitatis et rerum lucem, communi iuventutis sacratae bono, aere renitens) (Nuremburg: J.L. Buggel, 1688), pl. 17.

                     

                     

                    Comments

                    This engraving centers on Dido’s suicide, the planning and execution of which take up the better part of Book IV. She sits on the pyre built at line 504, which appears exactly as she describes it from 494 through 497. It is open to the breezes (tu secreta pyram tecto interior sub auras erige 494-5) and Aeneas’ abandoned armor (helmet, shield, and breastplate) lies beside her. All the Carthaginians in the picture are lamenting, and Anna is behind her sister, rending her hair in grief. Dido herself appears calm, as she stabs herself. Above her is Iris, leaning on her rainbow as she cuts a lock of Dido’s hair, thus allowing her to die (704). In the distant background on the right appear ruins- perhaps Carthage, the building project stalled since the arrival of Aeneas (86-89). (Lucy McInerney)

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                    Date
                    1688
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                    Dimensions
                    21.86x16.92cm
                    Inscription
                    Lib. IV. Aen: v. 659. Dixit: et os impressa toro, Moriemur multae?/ Sed moriamur ait. Sic? Sic iuvat ire sub umbras./ usque 695.
                    Location
                    Bavarian State Library, Munich
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                    Tiepolo: Neptune and the Winds

                      The sketch illustrates a celebrated passage from Virgil's Aeneid describing how Neptune calmed the winds to save Aeneas from shipwreck. Neptune, his arm raised, commands the winds to desist. Jupiter stands in front of the portico of a circular temple. In 1764–66 Tiepolo decorated a room in the Palacio Real, Madrid, with an apotheosis of Aeneas; the sketch may be related to this project. (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

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                      Date
                      1696–1770
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                      24 1/2 x 24 1/2 in. (62.2 x 62.2 cm)
                      Location
                      The Metropolitan Museum of Art