Allegory of America, from "The Four Continents"
mid to late 17th century
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed): 8 3/4 × 5 15/16 in. (22.3 × 15.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of the Estate of James Hazen Hyde, 1959
Accession Number
59.654.48
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the world of 17th-century imagination with *Allegory of America, "The Four Continents*, a delicate etching created by the collaborative talents of French printmakers Abraham Bosse and I Leblond in the mid- to late 1600s. Measuring just 8 3/4 × 5 15/16 inches, this trimmed sheet exemplifies the precision of etching—a revolutionary intaglio technique where acid etches intricate lines into a metal plate allowing for richly detailed reproductions that could be widely shared across continents. Personifying America as a female figure amid symbols of weapons, the print reflects Baroque-era...
About the Artist
Abraham Bosse|Jean I Leblond · 1602–1676
Abraham Bosse (1604–1676) was a French printmaker and theorist whose approximately 1,600 etchings provide an unparalleled visual record of 17th-century French life. Born to Huguenot parents in Tours, he trained in Paris under Melchior Tavernier and became a devoted follower of Jacques Callot's technical innovations. Bosse's meticulous etchings depicted subjects ranging from daily life and fashion ...