An allegory in honor of the arrival of Cardinal Franciotti as Bishop of Lucca
1680–1700
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
sheet: 15 3/16 x 11 3/4 in. (38.5 x 29.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951
Accession Number
51.501.4219
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Metropolitan Museum of's Drawings and Prints collection, where *An Allegory in Honor of the of Cardinal Franciotti Bishop of Lucca* (ca. 1680–1700) captures a moment of ecclesiastical pomp and celebration. This etching, measuring 15 3/16 x 11 3/4 inches, was designed by the Italian Baroque artist Pietro Test (1611–1650), renowned for his intricate allegorical compositions blending classical mythology with religious themes. It was masterfully executed by Flemish engraver Arnold van Wester, who specialized in reproductive prints, bridging Testa's vision with late 17th-century tech...
About the Artist
Pietro Testa|Arnold van Westerhout · 1612–1650
Pietro Testa was born in Lucca in 1612 and, in accordance with the conventions of Italian artistic training, made his way to Rome while still young. There he studied under two of the leading painters of the early seventeenth century: Domenichino, from whom he absorbed a taste for classical restraint and narrative clarity, and Pietro da Cortona, whose more exuberant Baroque manner offered a contras...