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: 7 11/16 x 11 13/16 in. (19.5 x 30 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Edwin De T. Bechtel, 1957
Accession Number
57.650.364(3)
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the bustling etching *Restauration de L'Aqueduc de Pise (Restoring the Aqueduct in Pisa)*, created between 1614 and 1620, visitors witness a moment of Tuscan renewal under Grand Duke Ferdinand I de'. This work is part of the series *La Vie de Ferdinand Ier Médicis*, also as *Les Batailles des Médicis*, which chronicles the duke's life and achievements. Designed by Florentine painter Matteo Rosselli masterfully engraved by Jacques Callot—one of the era's greatest printmakers—the scene captures workers laboring on Pisa's ancient aqueduct, symbolizing Ferdinand's commitment to infrastructure a...
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...