Finale to the Twilight of the Gods
Medium
Lithograph in black with scraping on stone on grayish-ivory laid china paper with brushmarks
Dimensions
Image: 43.8 × 30 cm (17 1/4 × 11 13/16 in.); Sheet: 64.6 × 49.7 cm (25 7/16 × 19 5/8 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
41077
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In this composition depicting the finale of The Ring cycle, the three Rhinemaidens rejoice in the over-flowing river at having their treasured Rhinegold returned to them. One Rhinemaiden raises the gold in exaltation while her sister ascends from the swirling river to embrace the treasure. Valhalla, the home of the gods, burns in the distance, signaling the end of the gods and the commencement of a new era.
About the Artist
Henri Fantin-Latour · 1836–1904
Ignace Henri Jean Théodore Fantin-Latour was born on January 14, 1836, in Grenoble, France, to portrait painter Théodore Fantin-Latour, who gave him his earliest drawing lessons. The family relocated to Paris in 1841, where in 1850, at age 14, he enrolled in the École de Dessin, studying under Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran, whose innovative memory-based method of drawing from observation profoundly ...