Plate 24: The Israelites Rebuilding the Walls of Jerusalem, from 'The Battles of the Old Testament'
ca. 1590–ca. 1610
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 8 3/16 × 11 3/16 in. (20.8 × 28.4 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
51.501.3390
Tags
Art Historical Context
Plate 24 from Antonio Tempesta's *The Battles of the Old*, etched around 1590–1610, captures a pivotal biblical moment: the Israelites rebuilding Jerusalem's walls under Nehemiah's leadership. Italian artist Tempesta, renowned for his dynamic battle scenes and Mannerist style, designed this intricate composition, while Flemish engraver Nicolaus vanelst brought it to life through precise etching techniques. Printed on a modest sheet (8 3/16 × 11 3/16 in.), it vividly portrays men laboring with tools amid architectural scaffolds, emphasizing themes of resilience and communal effort. This print ...
About the Artist
Antonio Tempesta|Nicolaus van Aelst · 1555–1630
Antonio Tempesta (1555–1630), known as 'Il Tempestino,' was a Florentine painter and printmaker whose extraordinary output of approximately 1,700 etchings made him one of the most influential printmakers of the early Baroque period. Born in Florence and trained under Santi di Tito and the Flemish master Joannes Stradanus, he enrolled in the Accademia del Disegno in 1576 before relocating to Rome i...