Plate 27: Semele's Wish (Semele divino Ious concubitu occiditur), from Ovid's 'Metamorphoses'
1606
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 1/16 × 4 5/8 in. (10.3 × 11.7 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
51.501.3878
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold Plate 27: *Semele's Wish (Semele divino Ious concubitu occiditur)* from Antonio Tempesta's masterful 1606 etching series illustrating Ovid's *Metamorph*. This intimate print, measuring just over 4 by 4 inches, captures pivotal moment from classical mythology: Semele, mortal lover of Jupiter (us), succumbs to her fatal desire to behold the god in his full divine glory. Tricked by the jealous Juno, Semele perishes in a blaze of lightning, transforming into the starry Corona Borealis—a tale of hubris, passion, and metamorphosis that captivated Renaissance audiences. Tempesta, a prolific I...
About the Artist
Antonio Tempesta · 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...