Virgin and Child
Medium
Engraving; first state of two
Dimensions
sheet: 8 3/4 x 13 11/16 in. (22.2 x 34.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1941
Accession Number
41.57.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
This engraving of the Virgin and Child captures a devotional subject with remarkable delicacy. Created through the int technique of engraving, the showcases fine linear work that allows for subtle modeling of forms and rich tonal contrasts. As the first state of two, it represents an early impression, preserving the artist’s initial vision before any later modifications to the plate. Claude Mellan, a master French engraver of the seventeenth century, collaborated here with Nicolas Le Pelletier de La Houssaye. Their joint effort produced a composition that combines the tender intimacy of the M...
About the Artist
Claude Mellan|Nicolas Le Pelletier de La Houssaye · 1598–1688
Claude Mellan (1598-1688) was a French draughtsman, engraver, and painter who became one of the most innovative printmakers of the French Baroque period. Born in Abbeville to a family of coppersmiths, Mellan rose to become Peintre et Graveur Ordinaire du Roi (Painter and Engraver in Ordinary to the King), achieving recognition for his extraordinary technical mastery. Mellan's artistic significanc...