4146 – Witch Picture (Scrying)

Physical description:

A black and white print (engraving?) cut from a journal, showing a witch holding a wand and a man wearing a cloak and holding a sword, both gazing into a bowl of liquid lit by a shaft of light (moonlight?).

Museum classification:

Divination

Size:

291 x 214

Information:

Taken from a painting by the 19th century Polish artist Leopold Loeffler (1827 - 1898). The picture illustrates a scene from Robert Schumann's opera 'Genoveva' (1850), featuring the witch Margaretha, who is using a "magic mirror" (according to the caption, although it definitely looks like a bowl of liquid) to deceive Count Siegfried into believing that his wife is unfaithful.

There is writing in German on the back of the picture - apparently an analysis of the picture or the opera. A production of the opera, conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, became available on DVD in 2010.

Leopold Loeffler was a leading Polish Romantic artist who spent most of his time in Austria, and had a particular interest in historical subjects. His paintings were often reproduced in this form in  journals.

An interesting detail is that Margaretha has one foot resting on a box decorated with a hexagram and other magical symbols.

Resource:

Picture

Materials:

Ink on paper

Copyright ownership:

MWM

Taken from a painting by the 19th century Polish artist Leopold Loeffler (1827 - 1898). The picture illustrates a scene from Robert Schumann's opera 'Genoveva' (1850), featuring the witch Margaretha, who is using a "magic mirror" (according to the caption, although it definitely looks like a bowl of liquid) to deceive Count Siegfried into believing that his wife is unfaithful.

There is writing in German on the back of the picture - apparently an analysis of the picture or the opera. A production of the opera, conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, became available on DVD in 2010.

Leopold Loeffler was a leading Polish Romantic artist who spent most of his time in Austria, and had a particular interest in historical subjects. His paintings were often reproduced in this form in  journals.

An interesting detail is that Margaretha has one foot resting on a box decorated with a hexagram and other magical symbols.