Cœnotaphiorum (21)
Medium
Etching; first state of four
Dimensions
sheet: 9 1/16 x 5 13/16 in. (23 x 14.8 cm)
Classification
Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Phyllis D. Massar Gift, 2011
Accession Number
2011.510.21
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the intricate etching *Cœnotaphiorum (21)* from 1563, Dutch artist Hans Vredeman Vries, a master of Northern Mannerist architecture and perspective, teams up with the renowned engraving brothers Johannes and Lucas van Doetecum. This first-state impression—rare among its four states—measures a compact 9 1/16 x 5 13/16 inches belongs to a series exploring fantastical cenotaphs, or monumental empty tombs. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, it exemplifies the era's fascination with elaborate ornamental designs inspired by classical antiquity. The composi...