Melchizadek offering bread and wine to Abraham
ca. 1545–61
Medium
Etching and engraving; first state
Dimensions
sheet: 10 13/16 x 16 5/16 in. (27.5 x 41.5 cm) plate: 10 5/8 x 16 5/16 in. (27 x 41.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953
Accession Number
53.601.187
Tags
About the Artist
Battista Franco · 1510–1561
Battista Franco, known as il Semolei, was born in Venice around 1510, though his career unfolded largely in Rome and at the courts of central and northern Italy. He came to Rome in his twenties and immediately fell under two powerful spells: the inexhaustible riches of classical antiquity and the overwhelming presence of Michelangelo. Franco spent years making drawings after ancient sculptures and...