Cœnotaphiorum (23)
Medium
Etching; first state of four
Dimensions
sheet: 6 11/16 x 8 3/8 in. (17 x 21.2 cm)
Classification
Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Phyllis D. Massar Gift, 2011
Accession Number
2011.510.23
Tags
Art Historical Context
This etching, titled *Cœnotaphiorum (23)*, was created in 1563 by the Flemish architect and designer Hans Vredeman de Vries in collaboration with the printmakers Johannes and Lucas van Doetecum and publisher Hieronymus Cock. Measuring just over six by eight inches, the work belongs to a series of ornamental prints depicting elaborate cenotaphs—monumental empty tombs intended to honor the deceased. Executed in the delicate medium of etching during the height of the Northern Renaissance, it reflects the period’s fascination with classical architecture and funerary splendor. Vredeman de Vries wa...