Diana in Her Chariot (La Lune sur son char)
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 10 15/16 x 7 1/2 in. (27.8 x 19 cm) plate: 8 3/16 x 6 in. (20.8 x 15.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
Accession Number
17.3.2015
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *Diana in Her Chariot (La Lune sur son char, a captivating 1633 engraving from the Metropolitan of Art's Drawings and Prints collection. Created master engraver Claude Mellan, likely after designs by the Baroque painter Pietro da Cortona (Pietrorettini) and in collaboration with publisher Giovanni Battista Ferrari, this measures about 11 x 7½ inches on its sheet. It vividly captures the Roman goddess Diana—Huntress and Moon deity—riding triumphantly in her chariot, pulled by spirited horses and surrounded by playful putti (cherubic figures), evoking the grandeur of classical mythology. ...
About the Artist
Claude Mellan|Pietro da Cortona (Pietro Berrettini)|Giovanni Battista Ferrari · 1598–1688
Claude Mellan (1598-1688) was a French draughtsman, engraver, and painter who became one of the most innovative printmakers of the French Baroque period. Born in Abbeville to a family of coppersmiths, Mellan rose to become Peintre et Graveur Ordinaire du Roi (Painter and Engraver in Ordinary to the King), achieving recognition for his extraordinary technical mastery. Mellan's artistic significanc...