iPad wallpaper of Opera [Set] Decorations: The Magic Flute, Act I, Scene VI / Carl Friedrich Thiele after Karl Friedrich Schinkel

iPad wallpaper of Opera [Set] Decorations: The Magic Flute, Act I, Scene VI (detail), Carl Friedrich Thiele after Karl Friedrich Schinkel

The new exhibition The Getty Research Institute: Recent Print Acquisitions features selections from four centuries of printmaking, from a rare suite of woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer to experimental lithographs by Paul Klee.

The prints are full of rich detail, tone, and texture that make you want to spend time with them. And now you can, with these wallpapers featuring details from six prints in the show. Your device is about to get a lot more scholarly.

Visit the exhibition webpage to see the uncropped versions of these images and other works in the show.

Detail from Portrait of Edouard Dagoty, Inventor of Color Printing / Carlo Lasinio

Portrait of Edouard Dagoty, Inventor of Color Printing (Portrait d’Edouard Dagoty, inventeur de la gravure en couleurs) (detail), ca. 1784, Carlo Lasinio (Italian, 1759–1838) after Johann Ernst Heinsius (German, 1740–1812). 4-color mezzotint, 19 1/2 x 16 1/2 in. The Getty Research Institute, 2010.PR.14. Partial gift of Dr. Richard A. Simms

Man
This posthumous portrait of artist Edouard Gautier d’Agoty was produced by his student Carlo Lasinio, who falsely claimed that d’Agoty was the inventor of color printing. This example required printing four copperplates, each with a separate color, onto a single sheet of paper.

If this wallpaper could talk: “I’m an artist with a true sense of style.”

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Opera [Set] Decorations (detail): The Magic Flute, Act I, Scene VI / Carl Friedrich Thiele after Karl Friedrich Schinkel

Opera [Set] Decorations: The Magic Flute, Act I, Scene VI (Decoration zu der Oper: Die Zauberflöte Act I. Scene VI) (detail), Carl Friedrich Thiele (German, ca. 1780–ca. 1836) after Karl Friedrich Schinkel (German, 1781–1841). Aquatint, etching, and hand coloring, 13 3/8 x 36 1/4 in. The Getty Research Institute, 2011.PR.19

Woman
Stars sparkle above the Queen of the Night in this captivating vision for the set of Mozart’s sublime opera The Magic Flute created by architect and designer Karl Friedrich Schinkel, best known for his many Greek-revival buildings in Berlin, Germany.

If this wallpaper could talk: “With my backlit display, I truly am queen of the night.”

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Detail from The Life of the Virgin (Epitome in divae parthenices Mariae historiam...) / Albrecht Duerer

The Life of the Virgin (Epitome in divae parthenices Mariae historiam…) (detail), 1511, Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528). Woodcut, 16 3/16 x 11 9/16 in. The Getty Research Institute, 2011.PR.21. Partial gift of the Getty Research Institute’s Collections Council

Faith
Albrecht Dürer spent a decade making the 20 woodcuts in The Life of the Virgin series; the set in the Research Institute is one of few original 1511 suites not disbound over the years. Here Mary and Joseph begin the long journey for Egypt under the watchful eyes of angels.

If this wallpaper could talk: “The road is long and rocky, but I will finish my dissertation/exhibition/LinkedIn profile.”

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Detail from Opera (Set) Decorations: The Magic Flute, Act I, Scene I / Carl Friedrich Thiele after Karl Friedrich Schinkel

Opera (Set) Decorations: The Magic Flute, Act I, Scene I (Decoration zu der Oper: Die Zauberflöte Act I. Scene VI) (detail), Carl Friedrich Thiele after Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Aquatint, etching, and hand coloring, 13 3/8 x 36 1/4 in. The Getty Research Institute, 2011.PR.19

Monsters
Ersatz hieroglyphs and menacing winged gargoyle-like creatures adorn a massive structure that is projecting from a mossy cave in this monumental design by Karl Friedrich Schinkel for the opening scene of Mozart’s classic opera The Magic Flute.

If this wallpaper could talk: It wouldn’t.

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Detail from The Large Hollow Oak, Study Done at Sautron / Emmanuel Phelippes-Beaulieux

The Large Hollow Oak, Study Done at Sautron (Le gros chêne creux, etude prise à Sautron) (detail), 1858, Emmanuel Phélippes-Beaulieux (French, 1829–1874). Etching, aquatint, roulette, and drypoint, 24 x 17 1/2 in. The Getty Research Institute, 2010.PR.38

Nature
A German romantic sensibility suffuses this beautiful and rare print of a split oak tree and a woman in Breton dress. The work expresses a devotion to nature and contemplates life and decay. The foliage and clouds in this detail are full of poetic lines and textures.

If this wallpaper could talk: “Beauty lies in the imperfect. This includes my first drafts.”

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Detail from Capricious Inventions of Prisons / Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Capricious Inventions of Prisons (Invenzioni capric. di carceri all’ acqua forte) (detail), ca. 1749–1750, first edition, first issue (7 of 14 on display), Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, 1720–1778). Etching and various other techniques, including engraving, sulphur tint, open bite, and burnishing, 21 7/16 x 21 5/16 in. The Getty Research Institute, 2007.PR.103

Torment
Prisoners writhe on a platform in this etching from Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s masterful series The Prisons, which is characterized by torqued perspective and a seemingly infinite array of deliberate lines and hasty scratches. The series displays Piranesi’s technical finesse, which stands apart in the history of art.

If this wallpaper could talk: “I’m trapped in my iDevice, but I like it that way.”

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Detail from Coal Facility at Königshütte / Carl Julius Rieden

Coal Facility at Königshütte (Coak-Platz zu Königshütte) (detail), ca. 1850, Carl Julius Rieden (German, 1802–1858) and Ernst Wilhelm Knippel (German, 1811–1900). Lithograph and gouache, 10 3/4 x 16 5/8 in. The Getty Research Institute, 2010.PR.75

Fire
Smoke and flame blaze across this luxuriously colored print of an industrial landscape, part of a suite commissioned by a mining coalition. (See another print on the exhibition webpage.) Workers and a draft horse carry on stoically, silhouetted by the orange light of the gutted quarry.

If this wallpaper could talk: “It appears my iPad has caught fire. I may need to leave this meeting early.”

iPad retina wallpaper (2048 x 2048 pixels)
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How-to on iPad or iPhone: Find the image size that best matches your device, then press and hold the image to bring up the “Save Image” option. Now go to Settings > Wallpaper and navigate to the image within the Camera Roll or Saved Photos.

How-to on Android (may vary by device): Find the image size that best matches your device, then press and hold the image to bring up the “Save Image” option. Now go to Menu > Wallpaper > Gallery and navigate to the image within your folders.

These images are copyright the J. Paul Getty Trust; they are provided for personal, non-commercial use only.