Armed Three-Master on the Open Sea Accompanied by a Galley from The Sailing Vessels
Medium
Engraving and etching; second state of three
Dimensions
sheet: 13 1/4 x 10 1/4 in. (33.6 x 26 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928
Accession Number
28.4(9)
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
Created around 1561–65, *Armed Three-Master on the Open Sea Accompanied by a Galley* belongs to Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s celebrated series *The Sailing Vessels*. Designed by Bruegel and engraved by Frans Huys publisher Hieronymus Cock, the print captures the majesty of sixteenth-century seafaring at the height of the Age of Exploration. A towering three-masted warship dominates the composition, its sails billowing as a smaller galley keeps pace—an image that celebrates both technological achievement and the drama of life at sea. Bruegel’s keen eye for detail translates beautifully into engr...