Pieter Coecke van Aelst
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Plate: 8 1/8 × 4 3/4 in. (20.6 × 12 cm) Sheet: 12 3/8 × 7 7/8 in. (31.5 × 20 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
A. Hyatt Mayor Purchase Fund, Marjorie Phelps Starr Bequest, 1983
Accession Number
1983.1115.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
This finely detailed engraving portrays Pieter Coecke van Ael (1502–1550), a leading Flemish Renaissance artist renowned for his tapestries, architectural designs, paintings inspired by Italian masters like Raphael. Depicted with a palette and brushes—hallmarks of the artist at work—the portrait captures Coecke's legacy as a bridge between Northern and Southern European art, having traveled to Italy and Constantinople, where he documented exotic motifs for European audiences. Created by the masterful engravers Jan (Johannes) Wierix and Theodoor Galle, active in Antwerp during the late 16th ce...