The Triumph of Neptune
c. 1490/1510
Medium
niello print
Dimensions
sheet: 2.8 x 6.1 cm (1 1/8 x 2 3/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.6680
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Created around 1490–1510 by the Italian artist Peregrino da Cesena, *The Triumph of Neptune* is a delicate niello print measuring just 2.8 by 6.1 centimeters. Niello prints were produced by taking impressions from small engraved silver plaques whose incised lines had been filled with a black metallic alloy. This early printmaking technique flourished in northern Italy during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, bridging the worlds of goldsmithing and the emerging art of engraving. The subject draws on classical mythology, depicting the Roman sea god Neptune in a triumphant proces...