Thetis Standing with Two Tritons
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 8 7/8 x 6 1/16 in. (22.5 x 15.4 cm) borderline
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1947
Accession Number
47.100.712
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *Thetis Standing with Twoons*, a captivating 16th-century engraving that brings the mythological underwater realm to life. Attributed to the masterful engraver Giorgio Ghisi possibly after designs by the Mannerist painter Perino delaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi) or an anonymous Italian artist, this print depicts the sea goddess Thetis poised gracefully between two muscular Tritons—merman-like attendants symbolizing the sea's power and allure. Measuring just 8⅞ × 6¹⁄₁₆ inches, its intimate scale invites close inspection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, acquired through the Harris Brisbane Di...
About the Artist
Giorgio Ghisi|Perino del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi)|Anonymous, Italian?, 16th century · 1520–1582
Giorgio Ghisi (c. 1520–1582) was one of the most accomplished engravers of the Italian Renaissance, renowned for translating the monumental compositions of Raphael, Giulio Romano, and Michelangelo into the exacting medium of the burin. Born in Mantua, he trained in an environment shaped by the legacy of Giulio Romano's decoration of the Palazzo del Te, and the grandeur of that Mannerist tradition ...