from The Set of The Bears

Art Historical Context

This delicate etching, *from The Set of The*, attributed to Marcus de Bye or Gheeraerts the Elder dated around 1664, captures the intriguing subject of bears in a compact sheet measuring just 4½ x 5¾ inches. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, it entered the collection through the generous bequest of Phyllis Massar in 1. As part of a thematic series, it reflects the 17th-century fascination with animal imagery in Northern European printmaking, where such works served both decorative purposes and as studies of the natural world. Etching, the medium here, was a revolutionary technique by this era, allowing artists to draw fluidly on a wax-grounded copper plate, which acid then "bit" to create intricate lines. De Bye, a Dutch engraver active in the mid-1600s, or the earlier Flemish master Gheeraerts the Elder, exemplified the precision of this method in rendering wildlife—likely evoking the bears' powerful forms, fur textures, and expressive features in vivid detail. These small-scale prints were prized by collectors for albums or portfolios, bridging art and emerging scientific observation during the Dutch Golden Age. Today, this piece invites us to marvel at how everyday etchings democratized access to exotic subjects like bears, blending artistry with cultural curiosity about the animal kingdom. A testament to printmaking's enduring legacy!