Lamia - Friedrich Justin Bertuch, 1806. (Mythology Wall Art)
This vintage art print shows Lamia as a calm, watchful figure in a simple landscape. The body is part human and part creature, with clear lines and soft color on a warm parchment style background. The scene feels quiet and slightly eerie rather than bloody or violent, so it works well in a study, reading corner or bedroom where you want something a bit strange and mythical without it overwhelming the room.
About this art print
This print is based on an illustration by Friedrich Justin Bertuch, a German publisher best known for his Bilderbuch für Kinder, a large picture book for children printed in many parts around 1800s. It gathered thousands of images of animals, plants, machines and mythical beings to teach children about the world in a visual way.
In older stories, Lamia was a dangerous female spirit from Greek and later European tradition, often described as a child-stealing monster or a night being that hunts the young. Bertuch does not show any attack here. He lets Lamia stand in profile so you can clearly see the mix of human and animal parts, with gentle shading to suggest skin, scales and fur without crowding the picture. The ground and sky are only lightly drawn, which keeps your eye on the figure itself. The steady, almost textbook style is very close to what he uses in his basilisk illustration, so Lamia also feels like a clear picture you might find in an early natural history book rather than a wild horror scene.
Craft & finish
Every replica we make is individually hand-processed in our family workshop. We finish the paper with a traditional beeswax seal to give it a warm, heavy texture. Our team also adds subtle gold paint details by hand to help the artwork truly shine. To complete the look, we hand-burn the edges to give each piece the feel of a true historical artifact.
While our smaller sizes are perfect for gallery walls, our 43x61 cm Large replica is a museum-scale centerpiece. Because of the size, the hand-processing and beeswax application take much longer. This extra time and care ensures that every centimeter of the historic illustration is preserved with a rich, authentic glow.
You can find more pieces like this in our Vintage Art collection.
Lamia (Friedrich Justin Bertuch, 1806.) - Vintage Art Print
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At Artifex Historical Replicas, we bridge the gap between museum archives and your home. Each piece is a handcrafted historical art print recreated from authentic primary sources, including antique city views and botanical illustrations.
Hand-Processed Paper: We use specialized paper with burned edges and a beeswax finish to replicate the weight and feel of genuine old parchment.
Gilded Details: Our workshop adds subtle real gold accents, bringing the same glow to your walls found in 16th-century illuminated manuscripts.
Custom Sizes & Worldwide Shipping: We offer bespoke sizing for custom frames and ship our historical replicas globally from our family workshop.
Explore our full guide on how we create, display, and restore parchment-style replicas.
