Frontispiece: Virgil, Publii Virgilii Maronis Opera
Medium
Engraving; first state of two
Dimensions
sheet: 14 1/8 x 9 1/4 in. (35.9 x 23.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1941
Accession Number
41.57.29
Tags
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection, where we encounter the elegant *Frontispiece: Virgil,lii Virgilii Maronis* (1641). This striking, the first state of two, as the illustrated title page for an edition the ancient Roman poet Virgil complete works, including the epic *Aeneid*. Measuring 14 1/8 x 9 1/4 inches, it captures the grandeur of classical antiquity through dynamic figures—men and male nudes intertwined with musical instruments—ev the muses and poetic inspiration central to Virgil's legacy. Crafted by master engraver Claude Mellan, likely after a...
About the Artist
Claude Mellan|Nicolas Poussin · 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...