Minerva and Mercury
Medium
Etching and aquatint, printed in brown ink; second state
Dimensions
Sheet: 12 1/2 × 16 3/4 in. (31.8 × 42.5 cm) Plate: 10 1/4 × 10 5/8 in. (26 × 27 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Edward W. Root, Elihu Root Jr. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant III, 1937
Accession Number
37.17.40
Art Historical Context
**Minerva and Mercury**1787) is a captivating print created through a collaboration of Italian artists Domenico Marchetti, Giovanni Battista Cipani, and Francesco Bartozzi, exemplifying the neoclassical revival of antiquity in late 18th-century Europe. Cipriani, known for his elegant drawings inspired by classical mythology, likely designed the composition, while Bartolozzi—a master engraver—and Marchetti executed the etching and aquat in brown ink. This second-state impression, refined for greater detail, measures a modest plate size of 10¼ × 10⅝ inches, making it an accessible luxury for col...