Woman Riding a Man
c. 1747
Medium
etching, hand-colored with watercolor, on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 20.5 × 29.5 cm (8 1/16 × 11 5/8 in.) sheet: 23.1 × 32.1 cm (9 1/8 × 12 5/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
New Century Fund
Accession Number
2014.176.2
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
**Woman Riding a Man** *Giovanni Francesco Costa, c. 1747* Step into the whimsical world of 18th-century Italian printmaking with Giovanni Francesco Costa's *Woman Riding a Man*, an etching hand-colored with watercolor on laid paper. Created around 1747, this intimate plate measures 20.5 × 29.5 cm, capturing a playful or provocative scene through fine, expressive lines typical of the etching technique. Etching, where acid bites into a metal plate to create intricate details, was a favored method for artists like Costa to produce affordable yet artistic reproductions, bridging elite painting traditions with wider audiences. The hand-coloring elevates this print, as each application of watercolor brought unique vibrancy to the laid paper—a handmade sheet with distinctive chain lines, prized for its texture in the Rococo era. This period celebrated lighthearted, sensual motifs amid Europe's Enlightenment, and Costa's work reflects the era's bold experimentation in genre scenes. Acquired through the New Century Fund for the National Gallery of Art's Prints department (CG-E), it offers a window into how prints democratized daring imagery, blending technical mastery with cultural cheek. (178 words)
About the Artist
Giovanni Francesco Costa · 1711–1773
Italian, Venice, 1711–1772/73