The Wise Virgins Conversing
ca. 1635
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 10 1/16 x 12 15/16 in. (25.6 x 32.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1926
Accession Number
26.49.8
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the etching *The Wise Virgins Conversing*, created around 1635 by French artists Abraham Bosse and Jean I Leblond, visitors encounter a delicate biblical scene from the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25). Bosse, a master printmaker known for his intricate reproductive etchings, likely collaborated with Leblond on the design, capturing five wise virgins in animated conversation. Symbols like books and a cross highlight their preparedness and faith, evoking 17th-century French devotion amid the Counter-Reformation's emphasis on moral and spiritual vigilance. Etching's fine, fluid lines ...
About the Artist
Abraham Bosse|Jean I Leblond · 1602–1676
Abraham Bosse (1604–1676) was a French printmaker and theorist whose approximately 1,600 etchings provide an unparalleled visual record of 17th-century French life. Born to Huguenot parents in Tours, he trained in Paris under Melchior Tavernier and became a devoted follower of Jacques Callot's technical innovations. Bosse's meticulous etchings depicted subjects ranging from daily life and fashion ...