Sheep, from a set of 16 plates

Art Historical Context

Behold *Sheep, from a set of 16 plates*, a charming 1664 etching by Marcus de Bye, now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department. Measuring a modest plate size of 4 11/16 x 5 13/16 inches (11.9 x 14.8 cm), this intimate print captures the gentle form of sheep with fine precision, inviting visitors to appreciate the everyday beauty of pastoral subjects. Etching, de Bye's chosen medium, was a revolutionary intaglio technique in the 17th century: artists drew through a wax ground on a metal plate, allowing acid to "bite" intricate lines for rich tonal depth and te...