Panel of Ornament with a Satyress Feeding Two Children
c. 1505/1520
Medium
niello print
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 7.1 x 4.5 cm (2 13/16 x 1 3/4 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.6691
Art Historical Context
This delicate niello print, created by the Italian artist Peregrino da Cesena around 1505–1520, captures the refined ornamental tastes of the early Renaissance. Measuring just over two by three, the tiny panel depicts a satyress— a female figure from classical mythology—tenderly feeding two children amid scrolling foliage and decorative motifs. Such intimate, mythological scenes were popular in Renaissance decorative arts, reflecting a renewed fascination with ancient Roman and Greek imagery. Niello prints like this one were made by taking impressions from engraved metal plates inlaid with a ...