Title page depicting a two-handled base with dancing nymphs, from Antique Vases (Vasa a Polidoro Caravagino)
Medium
Etching and engraving; second state of three (Bartsch)
Dimensions
Sheet: 10 11/16 × 7 1/16 in. (27.2 × 17.9 cm)
Classification
Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951
Accession Number
51.501.600
Tags
Art Historical Context
This enchanting etching and engraving, titled *Title page depicting a twoled base with dancing nymph* from the series *Antique Vases (Vasa a Polidoro Caravagino)*, captures the Renaissance obsession with classical antiquity. Created 1605 as a collaborative effort by engravers Cherubino Alberti ( designs attributed to Zaccaria Mattia and Polidoro da Carav) and the Sadeler brothers—Aegid II and Marcus—it serves as the ornate title for a collection of ancient vase motifs. Measuring 10 11/16 × 7 1/16 inches, this second state of three (per Bartsch) exemplifies the meticulous printmaking techniques...
About the Artist
Cherubino Alberti (Zaccaria Mattia)|Polidoro da Caravaggio|Aegidius Sadeler II|Marcus Sadeler · 1553–1615
Cherubino Alberti (1553–1615), also known by his birth name Zaccaria Mattia, was an Italian engraver and painter active in Rome during the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Born in Borgo San Sepolcro in Tuscany, he came from an artistically inclined family and received training that equipped him for work in both painting and the reproductive graphic arts. It was as a printmaker, however,...