Mater Dei, the Virgin in prayer towards the left
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Plate: 16 7/16 × 12 7/16 in. (41.8 × 31.6 cm) Sheet: 17 3/4 × 13 5/8 in. (45.1 × 34.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951
Accession Number
51.501.4286
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Metropolitan Museum Art's Drawings and Prints, *Mater Dei, the Virgin Prayer Towards the Left* (1802) is a engraving that captures the tender devotion of the Virgin Mary. Attributed to engraver Luigi Schiavon after the 17th-century Italian artist Onorio Marinari (with some anonymous elements), this print depicts Mary in a contemplative pose, her gaze turned leftward in quiet prayer. Measuring a substantial plate size of 16 7/16 × 12 7/16 inches, it exemplifies the meticulous craftsmanship of early 19th-century printmaking. Engraving, an intaglio technique where lines are incise...
About the Artist
Anonymous|Luigi Schiavonetti|Onorio Marinari
In the vast tapestry of art history, "Anonymous" stands not as a singular individual but as a collective designation for countless unidentified creators whose works have endured across millennia. These artists, spanning prehistoric cave painters to medieval illuminators and folk craftsmen, produced the foundational layers of human visual culture. Prior to the Renaissance, when individual fame emer...