Portrait of Hadriaan Beverland Drawing a Sculpture of the Callipygian Venus
Medium
Mezzotint; second state of three
Dimensions
Sheet: 16 13/16 × 9 3/4 in. (42.7 × 24.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, PECO Foundation Gift, 2016
Accession Number
2016.26
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking mezzotint from 1686 captures the Dutch scholar Hadriaan Beverland in the act of sketching the celebrated ancient sculpture known as the Venus Callipyga, or “Venus of the beautiful buttocks.” Created through a collaboration involving Simon Du Bois and printmaker Isaac Beckett, the portrait places Beverland before the marble figure, with obelisks and classical motifs framing the scene. The work reflects the era’s fascination with Greco-Roman antiquity and the human form, themes central to Beverland’s own controversial writings on classical literature and sexuality. Mezzotint, a re...
About the Artist
Hadriaan Beverland|Simon Du Bois|Isaac Beckett (Dutch|Flemish|British) · 1650 |1632 |1652 –1716 |1708 |1719
Dutch, Middleburg 1650–1716 London|Flemish, baptized Antwerp 1632–1708 London (active England)|British, Kent 1652/53–1719 London