Winter
1634
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed): 4 in. × 5 7/8 in. (10.2 × 15 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1917
Accession Number
17.50.15-208
Tags
Art Historical Context
Charles Audran’s 1634 etching “Winter” offers a striking allegorical vision of the coldest season through the human figure. Rendered in delicate lines on a modest sheet measuring just over four by five inches, the print depicts male nudes that embody the harsh yet beautiful qualities of winter. The small scale invites close viewing, allowing the fine etched lines to convey both the chill of the air and the vitality of the bodies. Etching, a technique prized in the seventeenth century for its precision and reproducibility, enabled artists like Audran to circulate such seasonal allegories widel...