A winged figure rides the ringed planet through the stars

Drawn in black and white chalk on warm tan paper: a winged youth sits astride the great ringed disc of Saturn, one leg extended, hands resting on the sphere, wings folding back into the dark. Around him the rings sweep out in broad chalk arcs, a small moon hangs at the right, a comet cuts across the upper left, and the field is dusted with stars. Vedder made The Throne of Saturn in Rome in 1883, and no American drawing of the period comes closer to the feeling of standing outside the world and looking back at it.

Elihu Vedder (1836–1923) was an American painter who settled in Rome and stayed for half a century, producing sphinxes, sibyls and cosmic allegories at a time when his countrymen were painting landscapes. His illustrations to the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám were a publishing sensation in 1884, and his murals still line the Library of Congress.

Printed as a museum-grade giclée on Hahnemühle fine art paper using 12-ink archival pigment printing. Available handframed in FSC-certified wood with optional float glass, or unframed. Ships worldwide with free delivery to 30+ countries.