"Les Grandes Frises" (6 of 12)

Art Historical Context

Pierre Brebiette’s “Les Grandes Frises” (6 of 12) is an elegant etching created before 1626 that captures the lively spirit of classical mythology. Measuring just under three inches high yet nearly ten inches wide, the print forms part of a decorative frieze series populated by satyrs, goats, and female figures, suggesting a Bacchic procession or pastoral revel. The horizontal format evokes ancient Roman reliefs, translating sculptural energy into the fluid line of etching. Etching allowed Brebiette to achieve remarkably fine detail and tonal variety on a modest sheet, making such imagery widely accessible to collectors and artists across Europe. Produced in the early seventeenth century, these prints reflect the period’s renewed fascination with antiquity and the growing market for affordable, reproducible art. Today the work resides in the Metropolitan Museum’s collection thanks to the bequest of Phyllis Massar, inviting viewers to appreciate both its mythological charm and its technical refinement.

About the Artist

Pierre Brebiette · 1598–1642

Pierre Brébiette (c. 1598–c. 1642) was a French painter and etcher whose elegant, sensuous treatment of classical mythology and allegory earned him a significant reputation in early seventeenth-century Paris. Born in Mantes-sur-Seine, Brébiette traveled to Italy as a young man and lived and worked in Rome from around 1617 to approximately 1625, absorbing the influences of ancient sculpture, Renais...