Realm of Venus
Medium
Etching, only state
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 11/16 × 5 1/8 in. (9.3 × 13 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1917
Accession Number
17.50.18-151
Tags
Art Historical Context
"Realm of Venus," an etching created in 1646 by Wenceslaus Hollar after a design by Adam Elsheimer, captures a mythological scene featuring Venus and Cupid amid female nudes. Measuring just 3 11/16 by 5 1/8 inches, this intimate print belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection of drawings and prints, acquired through the Joseph Pulitzer Bequest in 1917. The work evokes the goddess’s domain as a serene, sensual realm, rendered with delicate lines typical of the medium. Adam Elsheimer, a German artist active in the early Baroque period, was renowned for his small-scale paintings ric...
About the Artist
Adam Elsheimer|Wenceslaus Hollar · 1578–1610
Elsheimer's meticulously detailed small paintings on copper would establish him as the most influential artist to follow Albrecht Dürer. He most likely arrived in Italy ca. 1598, where he quite possibly was associated with Hans Rottenhammer, and then moved to Rome in 1600, where he remained until his death. Comment on works: Landscapes; Religious.