Man seated viewed from behind (Narcissus)
Medium
Chiaroscuro woodcut printed from two blocks in brown
Dimensions
Sheet: 14 7/8 × 11 1/4 in. (37.8 × 28.5 cm) Plate: 11 5/16 × 7 3/8 in. (28.8 × 18.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1922
Accession Number
22.73.3-44
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 1520s, the Mannerist master Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Mazzola) collaborated with woodcutter Antonio da to create this striking *Man Seated Viewed from Behind (arcissus)*, a chiaroscuro wood printed from two brown blocks around 1527–30. Depicting the mythological youth Narcissus from behind, gazing perhaps at his reflection, the image captures a nude male figure in a contemplative pose, evoking the classical tale of self-absorbed beauty from Ovid's *Metamorphoses*. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, this 14⅞ × 11¼ in. sheet exemplifies ...
About the Artist
Antonio da Trento|Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola) · 1500–1560
Antonio da Trento (c. 1508–1550) was an Italian printmaker who specialized in chiaroscuro woodcuts, a sophisticated printing technique that used multiple woodblocks to create images with tonal depth and atmospheric effects. Working during the height of the Italian Renaissance, Antonio was one of a small group of master printmakers—including Ugo da Carpi, Niccolò Vicentino, and Nicolò Boldrini—who ...