The Young Painter and Young Goldsmith, from The Duels of the Workmen
1588
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 5/16 × 3 3/8 in. (5.9 × 8.6 cm)
Classification
Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Anne and Carl Stern Fund, 1962
Accession Number
62.662.24
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late Renaissance era, Swiss artist Jost Amman the spirited world of apprenticeships in his etching *The Young Painter and Young* (1588), part of the whimsical series *The Duels the Workmen*. This print, measuring just 2 5/16 × 3 3/8 inches, depicts two young boys in a mock confrontation: one as a painter clutching brushes, the other as a goldsmith his tools. Amman's intricate lines highlight their determined expressions and dynamic stances, turning everyday trades into playful rivalry. Amman, a master engraver and book illustrator based in Nuremberg, excelled in etching—a technique whe...
About the Artist
Jost Amman · 1539–1591
Jost Amman (1539–1591) was a Swiss-born woodcut designer, engraver, and illustrator who became one of the most prolific and influential graphic artists of sixteenth-century Germany, producing an output of extraordinary range and technical virtuosity that shaped the visual culture of the later Reformation era. Born in Zurich, Amman moved to Nuremberg around 1560, the city that had been the center o...