The Dream of Raphael
1561
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 13 in. × 17 7/16 in. (33 × 44.3 cm)
Classification
Prints-Facsimiles
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Edward Robinson, 1923
Accession Number
23.59.57
Art Historical Context
Created in 1561 by the Italian engraver Giorgio Ghisi, *The Dream of Raphael* exemplifies the reproductive printmaking that flourished during the Renaissance. As a facsimile engraving, it translates a design associated with Raphael into a detailed black-and-white image, allowing viewers far beyond Italy to encounter the master’s inventive compositions. Ghisi’s precise line work captures the ethereal quality suggested by the title, inviting contemplation of artistic inspiration itself. Engraving was prized in the sixteenth century for its ability to preserve and circulate works of art with rem...
About the Artist
Giorgio Ghisi · 1520–1582
Giorgio Ghisi (c. 1520–1582) was one of the most accomplished engravers of the Italian Renaissance, renowned for translating the monumental compositions of Raphael, Giulio Romano, and Michelangelo into the exacting medium of the burin. Born in Mantua, he trained in an environment shaped by the legacy of Giulio Romano's decoration of the Palazzo del Te, and the grandeur of that Mannerist tradition ...