Narcissus and Echo
17th century
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet (Trimmed): 12 3/8 × 15 7/16 in. (31.5 × 39.2 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
51.501.1851
Art Historical Context
In the captivating etching *Narcissus and Echo*, created in the 17th by Dutch artist Frans van der Neve and published by Italian engraver Giovanni Giacomo De Rossi visitors encounter a dramatic retelling of the ancient Greek myth. Narcissus, entranced by his own reflection in a pool, ignores the nymph Echo, who fades away from unrequited love, her voice lingering as a faint echo. This Baroque-era print masterfully captures the tension between vanity and longing, themes that resonated deeply in an age obsessed with illusion and human emotion. Etching, the medium here, allowed for intricate lin...
About the Artist
Frans van der Neve|Giovanni Giacomo De Rossi (Flemish|Italian) · 1606 |1627 –1688 |1691
Flemish, Antwerp 1606–after 1688 Salzburg, Austria (?)|Italian, Rome 1627–1691 Rome