Winged genius seated on a cloud, sounding a trumpet with his left hand extended upwards
Medium
Engraving (reverse copy)
Dimensions
Sheet: 9 1/4 × 6 1/2 in. (23.5 × 16.5 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
51.501.3767
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the *Winged Genius Seated on a Cloud, Sounding a Trumpet with His Left Hand Extended Upwards*, a captivating engraving from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection. Created by Cherubino Alberti (also known as Zaccaria Mattia) after Polidoro da Caravaggio, this work dates to after 1628. It measures a modest 9¼ × 6½ inches, yet packs symbolic punch: a muscular, winged male nude perched ethereally on clouds, trumpet to his lips, arm raised in proclamation. Such figures evoke Renaissance and Baroque allegories of Fame or divine announcement, blending Polidoro's Mannerist dynamism with Alberti's precise reproductive engraving style. As a "reverse copy," this print mirrors an original composition—a technique engravers used to faithfully reproduce paintings or drawings for wider audiences. Engraving, an intaglio method involving incised metal plates inked and pressed onto paper, allowed intricate details like the genius's flowing hair, feathered wings, and billowing clouds to shine. Alberti, a master printmaker, popularized works by earlier artists like Polidoro, making high art accessible through affordable prints for collectors, scholars, and decorators. This piece highlights printmaking's cultural role in 17th-century Europe: disseminating motifs from Italy across continents, influencing design and inspiring copies. Acquired via The Elisha Whittelsey Fund in 1951, it invites us to ponder how a trumpet blast from the heavens symbolized triumph and eternity.
About the Artist
Cherubino Alberti (Zaccaria Mattia)|Polidoro da Caravaggio · 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,...