Title page from 'The magnificent pageant on the Arno in Florence for the marriage of the Grand Duke' (Le Magnifique carousel fait sur le fleuve de l'Arne a Florence, pour le mariage du Grand Duc); two figures holding a curtain inscribed with title and other details

Art Historical Context

This delicate etching serves as the title page for lavish publication documenting the "Magnificent Carousel" on Florence's Arno River in 1664, celebrating marriage of the Grand Duke—likely Cosimo III de' Medici Two elegant figures, a man and a woman, back a curtain to reveal the inscribed title and heraldic details, evoking the theatrical splendor of Baroque festivities. Such pageants were extravagant public spectacles blending equestrian tournaments, floats, and fireworks, symbolizing Medici power and dynastic alliances in Renaissance Italy's fading grandeur. Created through the precise technique of etching—a method where acid bites into a metal plate to create fine lines—this small print (just under 4 by 5 inches) captures architectural ornamentation and coats of arms with remarkable detail. Attributed to a collaboration including Giulio Parigi, Remigio Cantagallina, and Jean Sauvé, it reflects the era's printmaking boom, allowing widespread dissemination of elite events. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, this bequest from Phyllis Massar offers a window into 17th-century Europe's cultural pomp, where art immortalized fleeting joy.

About the Artist

Giulio Parigi|Anonymous|Remigio Cantagallina|Jean Sauvé · 1571–1635

Parigi studied in Florence with his great-uncle Bartolommeo Ammannati, his father Alfonso di Santi Parigi and the Grand-Ducal architect Bernardo Buontalenti, whom he succeeded in 1608. Ca. 1598 to ca. 1629, Parigi operated an academy in Florence which taught geometry, perspective, draughtsmanship, mechanics and civil and military architecture. For the first half of the 16th century, Parigi and his...