Roman Charity, with Pero, holding a small child, offering her right breast to the shackled Cimon
Medium
Stipple etching
Dimensions
Sheet (Trimmed): 15 1/2 × 17 1/8 in. (39.4 × 43.5 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
51.501.2824
Art Historical Context
In the poignant print *Roman Charity, with Pero, holding a small, offering her right breast the shackled Cimon (1792), visitors encounter a dramatic retelling of an ancient Roman tale from Valerius Maximus. The scene depicts Pero nursing her imprisoned father, Cimon, condemned to starve, as an extraordinary act of filial piety. This motif, celebrated in Western art since antiquity, symbolizes selfless devotion and challenged taboos around maternity and nudity, often evoking both admiration and controversy. Created as a stipple etching by Michele Benedetti after a composition by Baroque master...
About the Artist
Carlo Cignani|Michele Benedetti · 1628–1719
Painter who continued the tradition of Bolognese classicism into the 18th century. He became the first president of the Accademia Clementina in 1711. His style is similar to that of Guido Reni. Comment on works: Mythology; Religious.