Pygmalion
Medium
Brush and gray and black wash, heightened with white.
Dimensions
Overall: 16 x 11 9/16 in. (40.7 x 29.4 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Karen B. Cohen Gift and Sotheby's Inc. Gift, 1996
Accession Number
1996.414
Tags
Art Historical Context
Joachim von Sandrart *Pygmalion* (1662) is a captivating drawing that brings the ancient Greek myth to life. In the story, the sculptor Pygmalion a flawless ivory statue of Galatea, falls deeply in love with it, and prays to Venus for her animation—a tale of creation, desire, and divine intervention that resonated in Baroque art. Sandrart, a prominent German-Dutch artist and art theorist known for his encyclopedic *Teutsche Academie*1675), captures this moment with Pygmalion tenderly embracing the awakening nude figure, blending classical mythology with 17th-century emotional intensity. Execu...