Covered Cup with Children on the Base
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 5 9/16 x 3 9/16 in. (14.2 x 9 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949
Accession Number
49.95.198b
Art Historical Context
René Boyvin’s engraving *Covered Cup with Children on the Base* captures the refined elegance of sixteenth-century French decorative design. Created as a print rather than a functional object, the work likely served as a model or record of a luxurious vessel, its surface alive with delicate ornament and playful figures. Boyvin, active in the circle of Fontainebleau, specialized in such ornamental engravings that translated the inventive spirit of Mannerist court art into portable form. Engravings like this one played a vital role in spreading artistic ideas across Europe. Goldsmiths, collecto...
About the Artist
René Boyvin · 1525–1580
French, Angers ca. 1525–1598 or 1625/6 Angers