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Allegory of Friendship

c. 1833-1834
Louis Josef Kramp (German, 1804–1871) After a drawing of 1808 by Franz Pforr (German, 1788–1812) Published by the Frankfurter Kunstverein , Frankfurt am Main

This lithograph reproduces a drawing by Franz Pforr symbolizing his friendship with fellow artist Friedrich Overbeck. Pforr’s allegory expresses the young artists’ aspirations to infuse their art with the simple religious piety they found so inspiring in the works of Raphael and Albrecht Dürer.

Pforr visualized the relationship as the intimate friendship between his and Overbeck’s spiritual dream brides: two women from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, the dark-haired Shulamit representing Raphael, who was Pforr’s favorite artist, and the blonde Virgin Mary representing Dürer, who was Overbeck’s. Furthering the allegory, the window opens onto a side-by-side view of an Italian Romanesque church and a German Gothic spire.

Object Details

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