The Tame Magpie
ca. 1707–8
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
25 x 29 1/2 in. (63.5 x 74.9 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Katherine D. W. Glover Gift, 1984
Accession Number
1984.191
Tags
Art Historical Context
In Alessandro Magnasco's *The Tame Magpie* (ca. 1707–8), an oil on canvas now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Paintings collection, we encounter the Italian Baroque master's signature blend of whimsy everyday drama. Measuring 25 x 29½ inches, the painting likely captures a lively genre scene teeming with children, men, women,, birds—including the titular tame magpie—and rustic barrels, evoking the boisterous life of humble folk in early 18th-century Italy. Magnasco, a Genoese artist active in Milan and Genoa, was renowned for his flickering, atmospheric style influenced by...
About the Artist
Alessandro Magnasco · 1667–1749
Comment on works: Religious