Metamorfosen van Ovidius

About this artwork

Ajax stort zich in zijn eigen zwaard, nadat hij de strijd om de wapenrusting van Achilles verloren heeft. Titel in het Latijn in ondermarge.

Art Historical Context

**Metamorfosen van Ovidius Ajax's Tragic End** This intimate etching, titled *Metamorfosen vanius* (Metamorph of Ovid), was created by Italian artist Antonio Tempesta in1606. Measuring just 104 x 117 mm, it a dramatic moment from classical mythology: the warrior Ajax plunging his sword into himself in despair after losing the contest Achilles' armor to Ulysses. The Latin title appears in the lower, underscoring its literary origins. Tempesta, a master etcher active in late Mannerist and early Baroque Rome, produced this as part of a renowned series of over 140 small prints illustrating Ovid's epic poem, making ancient tales accessible to a wide audience through affordable reproductions. Ovid's *Metamorphoses* (c. 8 AD), a cornerstone of Western literature, weaves myths of transformation, love, and hubris. In Book 13, Ajax's suicide follows his humiliating defeat and descent into madness, symbolizing the destructive pride of heroes from the Trojan War. Tempesta's etching technique—using acid to incise fine lines on a metal plate—brings vivid intensity to the scene, with dynamic poses and expressive details that evoke the emotional turmoil. These prints reflect the Renaissance fascination with antiquity, bridging classical texts and 17th-century viewers. Tempesta's precise, narrative-driven style influenced later illustrators, preserving Ovid's timeless stories in a portable, collectible form perfect for scholars and art lovers alike.

About the Artist

Antonio Tempesta · 1555–1630

Antonio Tempesta (1555–1630), known as 'Il Tempestino,' was a Florentine painter and printmaker whose extraordinary output of approximately 1,700 etchings made him one of the most influential printmakers of the early Baroque period. Born in Florence and trained under Santi di Tito and the Flemish master Joannes Stradanus, he enrolled in the Accademia del Disegno in 1576 before relocating to Rome i...