Two cherubs dancing with a small boy, not by Hollar
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 5 5/16 × 7 13/16 in. (13.5 × 19.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951
Accession Number
51.501.6718
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, this enchanting engraving titled *Two Cherubs Dancing with a Small, not by Hollar* captures moment of pure delight from the mid-17th century (ca. 1640–52). Attributed to Wenceslauslar, the Bohemian master engraver, after designs by Flemish artist Pieter van Avont, it exemplifies the Baroque era's love for playful, mythological vignettes. Cherubs— rosy-cheeked putti symbolizing innocence and joy—frolic with a small boy amid blooming roses, evoking themes of childhood revelry and pastoral harmony. Engraving, the medium here, wa...
About the Artist
Wenceslaus Hollar|Pieter van Avont · 1607–1677
Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-1677) was a prolific Bohemian etcher who became one of the most accomplished printmakers of the seventeenth century. Born in Prague, he trained under Matthäus Merian in Frankfurt before entering the service of Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, in 1636. Hollar spent most of his career in England, where he produced approximately 2,740 etchings documenting an extraordinary range...