Plate 9: Emperor Vitellus on Horseback, from 'The First Twelve Roman Caesars' after Tempesta
Medium
Etching and engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 11 13/16 in. × 9 in. (30 × 22.8 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
51.501.3495
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold Plate 9 from *The First Twelve Roman Caesars*, a captivating etching and engraving depicting Emperor Vitellius astride a noble steed. Created between 1610 and 1650 by Italian artist Antonio Tempesta, whose dynamic designs of horses and figures inspired the series, and Swiss master engraver Matthäus Merian Elder, this print measures 11 13/16 × 9 inches. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, it exemplifies the era's fascination with classical antiquity. Vitellius, Roman emperor in 69 AD during the "Year of the Four Emperors," is portrayed in equestria...
About the Artist
Antonio Tempesta|Matthäus Merian the Elder · 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...