Plate 69: Cephalus and Aurora (Cephalum amore perditißimo prosequitar Aurora), from Ovid's 'Metamorphoses'
1606
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 in. × 4 1/2 in. (10.2 × 11.5 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
51.501.3920
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold Plate 69 from Antonio Tempesta's enchanting series of etchings illustrating Ovid's *Metamorphoses*, published in 1606. This intimate 4 x 4½-inch work captures the mythological moment when Aurora, the radiant goddess of dawn, ardently pursues the handsome huntsman Cephalus. Drawn from Book 7 of Ovid's epic poem, the scene depicts Aurora's unrequited passion—"Cephalum amore perditissimo prosequitur Aurora" (Aurora pursues Cephalus with the most lost love)—as he remains devoted to his wife, Procris. Tempesta, a prolific Florentine artist favored by the Medici court, masterfully distilled t...
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...