Giovanni de' Medici
ca. 1550–1600
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 18 3/4 x 12 1/16 in. (47.7 x 30.6 cm) sheet trimmed to borderline
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953
Accession Number
53.600.592
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking engraving, titled *Giovanni de' Medici captures the likeness of the renowned 16th-century Italian condott, a skilled mercenary leader known for his black-banded military standards. Created around 1550–1600 by the Italian engraver Enea V or an anonymous Italian artist, it exemplifies Renaissance printmaking from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection. The large sheet, measuring nearly 19 by 12 inches and trimmed to its borderline, highlights the portrait's monumental scale, likely depicting the sitter in profile amid military motifs, evoking the valor of s...