Pittacus Mitylenaeus, from Seven Wise Men of Greece
Medium
Etching on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 30.2 × 18.9 cm (11 15/16 × 7 1/2 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
268012
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Jacques de Gheyn III's *Pittacus Mitylenaeus, from Seven Wise Men of Greece* (1616) captures one of the legendary Seven Sages of ancient Greece, revered for their wisdom and moral teachings. Pittacus, a statesman and ruler of Mytilene on Lesbos around 600 BCE, was famed for sayings like "Know the right moment," embodying practical philosophy. This etching belongs to a series celebrating these iconic figures, blending classical antiquity with early 17th-century Dutch artistry during the Northern Renaissance's transition to the Golden Age. De Gheyn III (1565–1629), a masterful Dutch printmaker ...