Venus at left holding a golden apple in her right hand and an arrow in her left, Vulcan at his forge beating a piece of iron on an anvil
Medium
Engraving and made up section in pen and ink upper left
Dimensions
10 1/16 x 8 1/16 in. (25.5 x 20.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Anonymous GIft, 1929
Accession Number
29.44.7
Tags
Art Historical Context
This enchanting engraving, created around 1505 by the collaborative talents of Marcantonio Raimondi, Timoteo Viti, and Francesco Francia, captures a whimsical mythological tableau from classical antiquity. On the left, Venus gracefully holds a golden apple in her right hand—likely alluding to the Judgment of Paris—and an arrow in her left, symbolizing love's piercing power. Nearby, Vulcan labors intently at his forge, hammering iron on an anvil, embodying the god of fire and craftsmanship. Cupid hovers in the scene amid trees, evoking themes of divine romance, labor, and mischief that captivat...
About the Artist
Marcantonio Raimondi|Timoteo Viti|Francesco Francia · 1475–1534
Marcantonio Raimondi (c. 1480–1534), born near Bologna, Italy, emerged as one of the Renaissance's premier engravers, revolutionizing printmaking through his mastery of reproductive techniques. He trained in the workshop of the goldsmith, painter, and niellist Francesco Francia, whose influence is evident in his early engravings, such as the goldsmith-like shading in *Pyramus and Thisbe* (1505), h...