Portrait of Helena Fourment, with a young page behind her
Medium
Mezzotint; second state of two (Dutuit)
Dimensions
Sheet (Trimmed): 19 13/16 in. × 14 in. (50.4 × 35.5 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
51.501.7540
Tags
Art Historical Context
This enchanting mezzotint print, *Portrait of Helena Four, with a Young Page Her*, captures the radiant beauty of Peter Paul Rubens second wife, Helena Fourment, depicted with a young attendant. Created in 1782 as the second state of two (per the Dutuit catalog), it reproduces Rubens' original Baroque masterpiece from the 1630s. Rubens, the Flemish master of the Baroque era, portrayed his beloved Helena—whom he married in 1630 when she was just 16—numerous times, infusing his works with sensuous vitality, rich textures, and emotional warmth that defined his High Baroque style. Engraved by the...