The Trinity
1576
Medium
Engraving; first state of three
Dimensions
sheet: 15 11/16 x 11 15/16 in. (39.9 x 30.4 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
51.639.23
Tags
About this artwork
This engraving depicts the Holy Trinity, created by Italian artist Giorgio Ghisi in 1576 in the late Mannerist style. The composition presents God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit in a complex, sophisticated arrangement characteristic of Mannerist religious imagery. The print displays the poise, refinement, and idealized beauty typical of what scholars describe as "the stylish style" of Mannerism. Giorgio Ghisi, who lived from 1520 to 1582, was an Italian engraver from Mantua who ...
Art Historical Context
Giorgio Ghisi's *The Trinity* (1576) captures the Holy Trinity in a refined engraving that exemplifies late Mannerist elegance. The Italian artist, active from 1520 to 1582, portrays God the Father, Christ Son, and the Holy Spirit as a dove amid angels, arranged in a poised, composition typical of the period "stylish style Signed and dated on a tablet with Latin inscriptions, the print blends text and image to convey sacred themes with sophisticated grace. As a reproductive engraver from Mantua who worked in Antwerp and France, Ghisi served as a vital bridge between Italian and Northern Europ...
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 ...