Theseus and the Minotaur (Minotaurum Theseus vincit), from The Metamorphoses of Ovid (Metamorphosean Sive Transformationum), plate 74
Published after 1606
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
sheet: 6 7/8 x 7 7/8 in. (17.5 x 20 cm) plate: 5 7/8 x 4 1/2 in. (15 x 11.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of S. Paul Jones, 1935
Accession Number
35.6(75)
Tags
Art Historical Context
This etching captures the dramatic climax of the ancient Greek myth in which the hero Theseus slays the Minotaur, a monstrous half-man, half-bull creature imprisoned in the labyrinth of Crete. Created as plate 74 in a series illustrating Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the work brings to life one of the Roman poet’s most vivid tales of transformation, heroism, and divine intervention. The collaboration between Antonio Tempesta, a prolific Italian printmaker, and publisher Willem Jansz. reflects the growing demand in the early seventeenth century for accessible images of classical stories. Executed in e...
About the Artist
Willem Jansz.|Antonio Tempesta (Dutch) · 1571 –1638
Dutch, Alkmaar 1571–1638 Amsterdam