Restauration de L'Aqueduc de Pise (Restoring the Aqueduct in Pisa), from La Vie de Ferdinand Ier de Médicis série appelée aussi Les Batailles des Médicis (The Life of Ferdinand I de'Medici also called The Medici Battles)
Medium
Engraving; first state of two (Lieure)
Dimensions
Sheet: 9 1/4 x 12 5/16 in. (23.5 x 31.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1954
Accession Number
54.546.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
This engraving, created between 1614 and 1620, belongs to a celebrated series chronicling the life and achievements of Ferdinand I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Known as *The Life of Ferdinand I de’ Medici* or *The Medici Battles*, the set celebrates the ruler’s military campaigns alongside his civic projects. Here, laborers restore the ancient aqueduct supplying Pisa, underscoring the Medici commitment to engineering and public welfare in their territories. Jacques Callot, working after designs by Matteo Rosselli, translated the scene into a finely detailed engraving. The first state ca...
About the Artist
Jacques Callot|Matteo Rosselli · 1592–1635
Jacques Callot (1592–1635) was a French printmaker and draftsman from the Duchy of Lorraine, widely regarded as one of the first great artists to practice the graphic arts exclusively. His more than 1,400 etchings chronicled the breadth of 17th-century life, from Medici court festivities to the brutal realities of warfare. Callot revolutionized etching through technical innovations including the é...