Artwork
Uranio and Carino
Uranio and Carino is an ink drawing by the Baroque artist Johann Wilhelm Baur. It dates from 1640 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1640, this drawing by Johann Wilhelm Baur (1607‑1660) depicts the characters Uranio and Carino from Giovanni Batti sta Guarini’s pastoral tragicomedy *Il pastor fido*. Executed with pen, brown ink and a brown wash on laid paper, the work exemplifies Baur’s meticulous handling of line and tone, characteristic of his practice as an engraver and miniature painter.
Subject & Meaning
The composition captures a moment from *Il pastor fido*, a late‑sixteenth‑century drama that explores themes of love, fidelity and the tension between personal desire and duty. Uranio and Carino, central figures in the narrative, are rendered in a contemplative pose that underscores the play’s emotional complexity and its idealized pastoral setting.
Technique & Style
Baur employs fine pen work combined with cross‑hatching to model forms, while a subtle brown wash adds depth and atmospheric shading. The use of laid paper, with its visible ribbed texture, contributes to the drawing’s tactile quality, and the restrained palette reflects the artist’s preference for nuanced tonal variation over color.
History & Provenance
Johann Wilhelm Baur, a German artist active in the mid‑seventeenth century, is also known for a celebrated series of illustrations to Ovid’s *Metamorphoses*. *Uranio and Carino* belongs to his corpus of literary drawings, produced during a period when visual interpretations of contemporary and classical texts were in demand among collectors and patrons.
Artist & collection
Artist
Johann Wilhelm Baur, Joan Guiliam Bouwer, or Bauer (Strasbourg, 31 May 1607 - Vienna, 1 January 1640) was a German engraver, etcher and miniature painter. He is famous for a series of illustrations of Ovid's Metamorphoses.
