La Gierusalemme Liberata
Medium
Printed book with engraved illustrations
Classification
Books
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1937
Accession Number
37.37.18
Art Historical Context
Step into the epic world of *La Gerusalemme Liber* (Jerusalem Delivered), Torquato Tasso's 1590 printed book, now housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department. This Italian Renaissance masterpiece recounts the First Crusade's heroic liberation of Jerusalem, blending chivalric romance, religious fervor, and supernatural drama. Tasso, a tormented genius confined to asylums later in life, crafted this poem as a Catholic counterpoint to pagan epics like Homer's, making it a cornerstone of Counter-Reformation literature. What elevates this edition are its stunning engr...
About the Artist
Torquato Tasso|Girolamo Bartoli|Bernardo Castello|Agostino Carracci|Giacomo Franco (British|Italian) · 1765 |1544 –1836 |1595
British, Reepham, Norfolk 1765–1836 London|Italian, Sorrento 1544–1595 Rome