Portrait of Caravaggio, turned to the right and looking at his reflection in a mirror

Art Historical Context

This evocative etching, titled *Portrait of Caravaggio, to the right and looking his reflection in a mirror was created by French engraver Henri Simon Thom between 1707 and1741. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (gift of Harry G. Friedman 1960), the modestly sized sheet—trimmed to 8¾ × 4⅞ inches—captures the Baroque master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (15711610) in aous portrait. Turned profile, he gazes intently at his mirror reflection, surrounded by skulls that underscore a vanitas motif, reminding viewers of life's transience. Etching, a printmaking technique using acid to bite intricate lines into a metal plate, allowed Thomassin to reproduce Caravaggio's dramatic likeness with remarkable precision and tonal depth. Though created over a century after Caravaggio's turbulent life and death, the work immortalizes his intense persona, evoking the raw realism and chiaroscuro lighting that defined his revolutionary style. Mirrors and skulls as recurring symbols invite contemplation of self-examination and mortality—themes resonant in 17th- and 18th-century art. For museum visitors, this print bridges Caravaggio's bold legacy with the meticulous craft of Enlightenment-era engraving, offering a poignant glimpse into how one artist's image endured through reflection, quite literally.