An allegory of painting, who as an child in the centre left draws on a tablet, surrounded by figures, many of whom are drawing
1650–1700
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
sheet: 10 13/16 x 12 11/16 in. (27.4 x 32.2 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
51.501.4236
Art Historical Context
In the heart of this intricate etching, *An Allegory of Painting* (1650–1700), a childlike figure representing Painting itself stands at center left, intently drawing on a tablet.rounding her are a lively ensemble of figures—many captured mid-sketch—evoking the communal spirit of artistic creation. Attributed to Pietro Testa an innovative Italian Baroque artist known for his dynamic compositions and mythological themes, with possible involvement from engraver François Collignon, print celebrates the muse of painting amid a Baroque era obsessed with allegory and the liberal arts. Etching, the ...
About the Artist
Pietro Testa|François Collignon · 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...