Air, represented by Iris reclining on her rainbow, accompanied by a winged putto bearing a torch and another winged putto riding an eagle, from "The Elements"
1640–60
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet (Trimmed): 4 5/16 × 6 1/8 in. (11 × 15.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Phyllis Massar, 2011
Accession Number
2012.136.331.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the mid-17th century, Italian artist Giulio Carpioni crafted this enchanting etching, *Air, represented by Iris reclining her rainbow, accompanied by winged putto bearing a and another winged putto riding an eagle*, as part of his series *The Elements*. Active during the Baroque era (1640–60), Carpioni drew from Venetian and Bolognese, specializing in intricate small-scale works that blended mythological allegory with playful fantasy. This print, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection, exemplifies the period's fascination with the classical elements—earth, ai...
About the Artist
Giulio Carpioni · 1613–1678
Comment on works: Allegory; Mythology