Portrait of Galileo Galilei set within an elaborate cartouche
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Plate: 8 x 6 1/8 in. (20.3 x 15.5 cm) Sheet (inlaid): 8 3/8 x 6 5/16 in. (21.2 x 16 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Phyllis D. Massar, 2002
Accession Number
2002.451
Tags
Art Historical Context
This enchanting engraving, *Portrait of Galileo Galilei set within an elaborate cartouche captures the renowned Italian astronomer and physicist in 1623, crafted by Francesco Villamena Measuring about 8 by 6 inches on the plate, it hails from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's and Prints department, a gift from Phyllis D. Massar in 2002. Villamena, a skilled Italian engraver active in the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods, places Galileo's likeness within a lavish, scrolling cartouche—a decorative frame evoking architectural grandeur, which was a popular motif in period prints to elevat...