Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: A Papal Gathering in the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo's Last Judgement on the back wall; the crowd looks on through a screen
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
sheet: 21 1/16 x 15 9/16 in. (53.5 x 39.5 cm) mount: 22 1/16 x 16 7/8 in. (56 x 42.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1941
Accession Number
41.72(3.76)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the grandeur of Renaissance Rome with this 1582 etching, *Speculum Romanae Magnificent: A Papal Gathering the Sistine Chapel*. by engraver Giovanni Ambrogioambilla and published by Lafreri, it captures a solemn papal assembly within the Vatican's hallowed Sistine Chapel. the back wall looms Michelangelo's monumental *Last Judgment* fresco (completed in 1541), while a reverent crowd peers through an ornate screen, blending sacred ritual with artistic splendor. This print is part of Lafreri's influential *Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae* ("Mirror of Roman Magnificence"), a celebrated ...
About the Artist
Antonio Lafreri|Giovanni Ambrogio Brambilla · 1507–1577
Antonio Lafreri, born Antoine du Pérac Lafréry around 1512 in Orgelet in the County of Burgundy (modern-day France), emerged as one of the most influential print publishers of the 16th century after settling in Rome around 1540. His early life and training remain sparsely documented, with no records of specific teachers or art schools; he arrived in the Eternal City as an engraver, producing works...