"Les Grandes Frises" (6 of 12)
Before 1626
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
sheet: 2 13/16 x 9 3/4 in. (7.1 x 24.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Phyllis Massar, 2011
Accession Number
2012.136.251.6
Tags
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 wid...
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...