Origin of Painting
Medium
Etching and engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 19 1/8 x 13 1/4 in. (48.5 x 33.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Phyllis Massar, 2011
Accession Number
2012.136.839
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Origin of Painting** by Johann Eleazar Zeissig, Schenau (17371789), is a captivating 18th-century etching and that explores the mythical beginnings of art. Produced on a generous sheet measuring 19⅛ × 13¼ inches, this print from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department on the ancient legend of Dibut, a Corinthian woman credited with inventing painting by tracing her lover's shadow his departure for war. Schenau, a German Rococo artist known for his delicate reproductive prints, infuses the scene with elegant lines and intricate details, highlighting themes of love, mem...
About the Artist
Jean Ouvrier|Johann Eleazar Zeissig, called Schenau (French|French) · 1725 |1714 –1725 |1789
French, 1725–1784|French, Avignon 1714–1789 Paris