Hercules chasing Avarice from the Temple of the Muses
ca. 1520–27
Medium
Chiaroscuro woodcut from two blocks in green
Dimensions
11 15/16 × 9 1/4 in. (30.3 × 23.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1920
Accession Number
20.24.76
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of Renaissance printmaking, *Hercules Chasing Avarice from Temple of the Muses (ca. 1520–27) stands as a masterful chiaroscuro woodcut designed by Baldassare Tommasouzzi, the Sienese architect and painter by High Renaissance ideals, and executed by U da Carpi, a Venetian printmaker. Printed from two blocks in green tones, this 11 15/16 × 9 1/4 in. work captures the muscular hero Hercules driving out the greedy figure ofvarice—often depicted as a monstrous hag—from the sacred Temple of the Muses, guardians of poetry, music, and the arts. The composition pulses with dynamic ...