The invention of the cross; three men lifting a cross from a trench; from 'Recueil d'estampes d'après les plus beaux tableaux et d'après les plus beaux desseins qui sont en France, Cabinet Crozat' after a drawing by Pinturicchio

Art Historical Context

In the heart of Renaissance storytelling, this etching captures a pivotal moment from the Legend of the True Cross: men laboring to lift the sacred cross from a trench,izing its "invention" or discovery. Originally a drawing by the Italian master Bernardo di Betto, known as Pinturicchio (ca. 1454–1513), a key figure in the Umbrian school alongside Perugino, the scene brims with narrative drama and intricate detail typical of his late 15th-century style.uricchio's works often adorned grand fresco cycles, blending vivid humanism with religious fervor. French printmaker Nicolas Le Sueur faithfully reproduced it around 1729–64 as part of the lavish *Recueil d'estampes d'après les plus beaux tableaux et d'après les plus beaux dessins qui sont en France, Cabinet Crozat*. This opulent volume documented treasures from Pierre Crozat's renowned private collection, making elite art accessible through innovative techniques: etching for precise lines, aquatint for subtle shading, and tone woodblock for rich atmospheric depth. At 20⅞ × 15⅛ inches, the sheet invites viewers into 18th-century connoisseurship, bridging Renaissance devotion with Enlightenment print culture. A gift to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1960, it exemplifies how prints preserved and democratized artistic heritage.