Christ on the cross, a town in the background, after Reni
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Plate: 21 9/16 × 14 7/8 in. (54.8 × 37.8 cm) Sheet: 27 1/4 × 19 3/4 in. (69.2 × 50.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Lucy Chauncey, in memory of her father, Henry Chauncey, 1935
Accession Number
35.85.101
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
This engraving, titled *Christ on the Cross, a Town in the Background, after Reni*, captures a solemn depiction of the Crucifixion set against a distant townscape. Created between 1850 and 1888 by engraver Antonio Dalco after an original composition by the renowned Italian Baroque painter Guido Reni, the print was published by the firm Artaria et Fontaine. Reni’s elegant, classical style—marked by graceful figures and luminous clarity—made his religious scenes widely admired across Europe, and this reproductive engraving helped extend that reach into the nineteenth century. Prints such as this one played a vital role in disseminating famous artworks to wider audiences before photography became common. By translating Reni’s painting into the precise lines of engraving, Dalco preserved the emotional intensity of the scene while allowing collectors and scholars to study the composition in detail. The medium’s ability to produce multiple impressions meant that devotional images like this could find a place in homes, churches, and educational settings far beyond the original painting’s location. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Drawings and Prints, this work entered the collection in 1935 as a gift from Lucy Chauncey in memory of her father, Henry Chauncey. Its presence today offers visitors a window into both Reni’s seventeenth-century vision and the enduring nineteenth-century fascination with reproducing masterpieces for public appreciation.
About the Artist
Guido Reni|Antonio Dalco|Artaria et Fontaine · 1575–1642
Guido Reni (1575–1642) was one of the most celebrated Italian painters of the Baroque era and the dominant figure of the Bolognese School. Born into a family of musicians in Bologna, he trained first with Denys Calvaert before joining the influential Accademia degli Incamminati led by Ludovico Carracci. Reni achieved international fame through his idealizing style that combined Baroque dynamism wi...