Pltae 70: Procris Giving Cephalus a Dog and a Javelin (Cephalus et iaculo inevitabili, et cane pernicißimo a Procride donatur), from Ovid's 'Metamorphoses'
1606
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 in. × 4 5/8 in. (10.2 × 11.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951
Accession Number
51.501.3921
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
In Antonio Tempesta's etching *Plate 70: Procris Giving Cephalus a Dog and a Javelin (1606), we witness a pivotal moment from Ovid's *Metamorphoses*. The Roman goddess Procris presents her husband, Cephalus, with extraordinary gifts: an unerring javelin a swift, infallible dog. These divine tools, bestowed through Procris's intervention, foreshadow tragedy in the myth, where jealousy and misfortune unravel their love. Tempesta, a prolific Italian artist active in Rome during the late Mannerist and early Baroque periods, masterfully captures the tension through dynamic figures and intricate details on this intimate 4 x 4 5/8-inch sheet. This print is part of Tempesta's renowned series of 138 etchings illustrating Ovid's epic tales of transformation, published around 1606. Etching, a technique Tempesta excelled in, allowed for fine, expressive lines that brought classical narratives to life for a wide audience, from scholars to collectors. His energetic compositions, blending mythological drama with anatomical precision, bridged Renaissance humanism and the emerging Baroque vitality. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, this work highlights the enduring cultural fascination with Ovid in 17th-century Europe. It reminds visitors how prints democratized art, making ancient stories accessible and sparking reflections on fate, fidelity, and the supernatural. A small gem that packs mythological punch!
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...