Aesacus Eperies mortem dolens ex scopulo se praecipitans abit in mergum
1606
Medium
etching
Dimensions
104; 117
About this artwork
verzamelaarsmerk, verso, gestempeld: Lugt 240
Art Historical Context
Behold *Aesacus Eperies mortem dolens exulo se praecipitans abit in mergum* (1606), a delicate etching by Italian artist Antonio Tempesta. This intimate print, measuring just 104 mm high by 117 mm wide, captures a dramatic moment from Ovid's *Metamorphoses*. It depicts the Trojan prince Aesacus, overcome with grief at the death of his beloved (likely Hesperia or Eperie), hurling himself from a rocky cliff into the sea, where myth transforms him into a mergus—a diving bird. Tempesta, a master of Mannerist style renowned for his dynamic landscapes and mythological scenes, infuses the composition...
About the Artist
Antonio Tempesta · 1555–1630
Antonio Tempesta (1555–1630), known as 'Il Tempestino,' was a Florentine painter and printmaker whose extraordinary output of approximately 1,700 etchings made him one of the most influential printmakers of the early Baroque period. Born in Florence and trained under Santi di Tito and the Flemish master Joannes Stradanus, he enrolled in the Accademia del Disegno in 1576 before relocating to Rome i...