Athena, from "Twelve Muses and Goddesses"
ca. 1542–45
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed): 8 13/16 × 6 1/4 in. (22.4 × 15.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949
Accession Number
49.97.553
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *Athena, from "Twelve Muses and Goddess"*, a captivating etching created around 1542–45 by Primaticcio, an Italian Mannerist artist who helped shape the elegant School of Fontainebleau France, and engraver Davent. This print is part of a series celebrating classical deities, reflecting the Renaissance fascination with ancient mythology under the patronage of King Francis I. Primaticcio, summoned to France in the 1530s, blended Italian sophistication with French tastes, producing designs that adorned royal palaces. Rendered in etching—a revolutionary intaglio technique where acid etches...
About the Artist
Francesco Primaticcio|Léon Davent · 1504–1570
Primaticcio was the most influential Italian artist in France in the 16th century. Together with Rosso Fiorentino they created a style of mixing stucco decoration with mannerist paintings that became known as the Fontainebleau school. Italian painter, architect and sculptor. Comment on works: Religious; Allegory; History.