Hearing
ca. 1638
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed): 10 1/2 × 13 1/4 in. (26.7 × 33.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1926
Accession Number
26.49.22
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the enchanting world of 17th-century French domestic life with *Hearing*, a masterful etching created around 1638 by Abraham Bosse, with Melchior Tavernier as publisher. This print vividly captures a lively gathering of men and women musicians immersed in performance, featuring cellos and lutes that fill the scene with implied melody. As one of Bosse's renowned *Five Senses* series it allegorically celebrates the sense of hearing, blending everyday leisure with symbolic depth—a popular motif in Baroque-era art that reflected humanity's sensory experiences. Bosse, a leading French pr...
About the Artist
Abraham Bosse|Melchior Tavernier · 1602–1676
Abraham Bosse (1604–1676) was a French printmaker and theorist whose approximately 1,600 etchings provide an unparalleled visual record of 17th-century French life. Born to Huguenot parents in Tours, he trained in Paris under Melchior Tavernier and became a devoted follower of Jacques Callot's technical innovations. Bosse's meticulous etchings depicted subjects ranging from daily life and fashion ...