Medal
17th–18th century
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 3 1/8 x 3 1/8 in. (8 x 8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Phyllis Massar, 2011
Accession Number
2012.136.207
Tags
Art Historical Context
Gérard Edelinck’s small engraving titled *Medal* captures the refined elegance of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European portraiture. Working in France after training in Antwerp, Edelinck became one of the leading reproductive engravers of his age, translating paintings and sculptural reliefs into meticulous black-and-white prints. This delicate sheet, measuring just over three inches square, presents profiled human figures in the circular format typical of commemorative medals, allowing viewers to appreciate both the original object and the engraver’s interpretive skill. Engraving was ...