A row boat leading a ship to shore while a large group of figures looks on from the coast and along the bridge at center; a deity appears in the sky at upper left; set design from 'Il Fuoco Eterno'

A row boat leading a ship to shore while a large group of figures looks on from the coast and along the bridge at center; a deity appears in the sky at upper left; set design from 'Il Fuoco Eterno' by Mathäus Küsel|Ludovico Ottaviano Burnacini

Medium

Etching

Dimensions

Sheet (Trimmed): 12 in. × 16 3/4 in. (30.5 × 42.5 cm)

Classification

Prints|Prints-Fete|Ornament & Architecture

Department

Drawings and Prints

Museum

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Credit

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953

Accession Number

53.600.3571

Tags

BridgesGoddessCrowdBoatsShips

Art Historical Context

Step into the dramatic world of 17th-century Viennese theater with this etching Mathäus Küsel after a design by Ludovico Ottavianoacini, created in 1674. Titled *A row boat leading a ship to shore while a large group of figures on from the coast and the bridge at center; deity appears in the sky upper left*, it depicts bustling coastal scene alive with spectacle: a rowboat guides a grand ship toward shore, crowds gather on the beach and a central bridge, and a majestic hovers ethereally in the upper left sky. Measuring 12 x 16 3/4 inches, this trimmed sheet captures the illusionistic flair of ...

About the Artist

Mathäus Küsel|Ludovico Ottaviano Burnacini · 16291681

Matthäus Küsel (1629–1681) was a distinguished German copper engraver who achieved prominence as court engraver to the Holy Roman Emperor, earning the prestigious title of imperial court engraver (Hofkupferstecher). Born into the renowned Augsburg engraving and goldsmith family Küsel, Matthäus represented the height of German reproductive engraving in the Baroque period. His extensive oeuvre encom...

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