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Classical Mythology Illustrations

Engravings and prints representing classical mythological scenes, showing narratives from antiquity with intricate figures and dramatic imagery.

Design for a print, Paris and Oenone or Angelica and Medoro carve their names in a tree, draughtsman: Jacob Lois, 1639 - 1644, paper, brush, h 149 mm × w 208 mm
Design for a print, Paris and Oenone or Angelica and Medoro carve their names in a tree, draughtsman: Jacob Lois, 1639 - 1644, paper, brush, h 149 mm × w 208 mm
355 assets in this story
6145-59612782
Vision of the rich man in hell, Dirck Volckertsz. Coornhert, after Maarten van Heemskerck, 1551 print The rich man in hell. It is plagued by hellish flames, demons and devils. The mouth of the Hellebeest tries to swallow him. In a vision he sees the poor Lazarus on the lap of Abraham. The patriarch rejects the supplications of the rich man with a hand gesture. A devil holds up the rich man a mirror. He forces the rich man to take his own morality into consideration. The print is part of a series about parable of the rich man and the poor Lazarus. paper engraving / etching in hell Dives sees Lazarus in paradise; usually Dives pointing at his tongue
6145-59315814
Soul of my soul, Pieter Serwouters, 1606 - 1611 drawing Ame de Mon Ame: Cupido sat for a fire, in the background a group of dancing people. Design for a print. paper pen folk dancing (men and women together). (personifications and symbolic representations of) Love; 'Amore (secondo Seneca)' (Ripa). sleeping Cupid; possibly signifying a slackening of Love's influence
4409-29975689
Witches' Sabbath as reported in a judgment delivered by the court of Arras in 1460. Witches ride brooms and goats, dancing with fauns, holding snakes, playing music and boiling frogs and snakes in a cauldron. Engraving after a 16th-century illustration. Woodcut by Etienne Huyot and Jules Huyot. "La Vie Militaire et Religieuse au Moyen Age et à l'Epoque de la Renaissance", Paris, 1877. Author: Etienne Huyot (1807-1885). French engraver. Jules Huyot (1841-1921). French engraver.
6145-50498000
Drawing, Christ in Glory with Angels; Belisario Corenzio (Italian, active 1590-1646); Italy; brush and gray, white and light blue gouache on brown laid paper; 23.7 x 19.2 cm (9 5/16 x 7 9/16 in.)
4409-17460762
Elderly Man Watching Putti Dissect an Eye. Dated: c. 1613. Dimensions: overall: 10.1 x 14.8 cm (4 x 5 13/16 in.). Medium: pen and brown ink with brown wash over black chalk, heightened with white, on laid paper; indented with a stylus for transfer. Museum: National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. Author: PETER PAUL RUBENS.
6145-45740263
Battle between the giants and the Olympic gods. Oval presentation of the giants that try to conquer the sky from the earth with polishing with the sky where the Olympic gods houses. The latter fighting with spear and lightning back. Print of a silver tabletop approx. 1600 in Copenhagen.
4443-19539279
Gemini, Lunette for Ceiling, Sala Ottagonale, Palazzo Milzetti, Faenza, Felice Giani, Italian, 1758-1823, Pen and brown ink, light brown wash, over graphite on white laid paper, Two putti embracing in a demi lune., Faenza, Italy, Italy, 1804-05, interiors, Drawing, Drawing
6145-59462469
Neptunus and Amphitrite in the midst of bathing nymphs and Meermannen, Franz Xaver Wagenchön, 1784 print Germany paper etching (story of) Amphitrite. (story of) Neptune (Poseidon). nymphs (in general); 'Ninfe in commune' (Ripa). Nereids, daughters of Nereus; sea-nymphs. hoofed animals: rhinoceros. hoofed animals: hippopotamus
6145-29791667
The Dragon Devouring the Companions of Cadmus 1588 Hendrick Goltzius Netherlandish In 1588 Goltzius made several iconic prints that pushed beyond the elegant Mannerism of Bartholomeus Spranger to a more exaggerated muscular style. Perhaps the most dramatic is this horrifying portrayal of The Dragon Devouring the Companions of Cadmus, after a painting by Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem in the National Gallery, London (accession no. NG1893). The subject is taken from Book III of Ovids Metamorphoses. The engraving illustrates two scenes from the story of Cadmus, the prince of Tyre, whose sister Europa was abducted by Zeus. While searching for her, Cadmus sent his companions to find a spring so he could offer a sacrifice to Zeus; however, it was guarded by a fierce dragon. The dragon immediately killed Cadmuss soldiers and when the prince discovered their bodies, he vowed to avenge them.In the foreground we are confronted with the intertwined nude bodies of two ofsoldiers. rs. The dragon
4443-73262581
Antwerp, Galle, Philips, Vos, Maerten de, The story of Phaëthon, Phaëthon and Apollo, verso center bottom - stamped, In an oval frame an image: Apollo sits on a throne in the clouds. Around him the four seasons. His son, Phaëthon, kneels before him and asks if he can ride in the sun chariot. Under the clouds Phaeton is debating with Epaphus for a temple. Epaphus does not believe he is the son of Apollo. In the oval frame a Latin text. The print is part of a series depicting the story of Phaëthon., print, prints, verso bottom center - stamped, height 131 mm, width 100 mm, Southern Netherlands, 1537 - 1612-03-29, print maker, printmaker, 1542 - 1603, paper, engraving, engraving (printing process), Work conception, 1532 - 1603-12-04, after a design by, Publication (Event), Publication, publisher
6145-58995293
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). The sea monster (Bartsch 71). 1498. Museum of Fine Arts of the City of Paris, Petit Palais. 77214-26 Beaute, rivers, chateau, danaide, deesse, Greeco-Roman deesse, kidnapping, being fantastic, being hybrid, woman, sea monster, Greek-Roman mythology, Greek mythology, landscape, renaissance, sensuality, 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16th 16 16 century, engraving
4443-75462939
Frontispice, 1601 - 1700, Etchings, 5 x 6 5/16 in. (12.7 x 16 cm), Paper / Sheet 5 1/8 x 6 9/16 in. (13 x 16.7 cm), Cream laid
6176-67061846
'Idoles de Tabasco', 1723. Creator: Bernard Picart.
6145-29797961
Dianna, her Nymphs, and Callisto 1800-1900 Anonymous, Italian, 19th century Italian. Dianna, her Nymphs, and Callisto 390074
6145-30192398
Bacchanal 1545-1560 Italy. Giulio Sanuto, an idiosyncratic Venetian engraver, reveled in displaying bacchic musical imagery on a large scale. The flutes, panpipes, cymbals, stomping feet, and twisting bodies seen here mark the rowdy procession as quickly degenerating into chaos. The portly and drunken figures with their pendulous quadruple breasts and other anatomical oddities echo the excesses of the paired Bacchanal friezes by Andrea Mantegna (1956.1010 and .1011), while the intertwined poses of the revelers also suggest Antonio Pollaiuoloís Battle of the Naked Men (1938.260). The darkening tree cover marks their festivities as a truly ancient ceremony to which mortal viewers should not be privy.. Engraving in black on two sheets of ivory laid paper, joined through the center . Giulio Sanuto
6145-59562592
Venus en mars betrapt door Vulcan, Hendrick Goltzius, 1585 print Vulcanus is ready to catch his adulterous woman Venus and her lover Mars in a self -forged network. A crowd of male gods watches from heaven. On the left in the background you can see how Vulcanus has just been manufactured. Under the performance four lines of Latin. paper engraving Mars and Venus surprised by Vulcan; he catches them in a net
6145-43591982
Design of a page in calendar with an allegory of March. Thoma, Hans (1839-1924), draughtsman, cartoonist
6145-45904384
Female figure blows on a shell; Nouveau Livre des Dieux et Deeßes de la Marine Bouckje van Zeegoden and goddesses.
6145-45905969
Hercules in battle with Achelous; Magno Taurum Domat Luc Tamine; Herculean themes. In the foreground, Hercules catches the river god Acheloum in the form of a bull at the horns. Left is Hercules in battle with the river god in the form of a human and right in the form of a snake. In the background, some nymphs fill the cornucopia.
6145-59698563
Frisian with children at a source, Anonymous, After Heinrich Aldgrever, 1539 - 1610 print Frisian with eight naked children at a well. Both left and right two children try to throw a third in the well. Behind the well are two children with a drum and a flute. Germany paper engraving well. more than one musician with instrument. child
6145-59555485
God creates the birds and the fish, Antonio Tempesta, After Rafaël, After Nicolaes de Bruyn, After Maerten de Vos, 1565 - 1630 print God the Father floats on a cloud on the waterfront and creates the fish and the birds. Walk on land and in the air and birds float. Fish swim in the sea. paper etching creation of birds and fishes
6145-52839559
A chalk and feather drawing by Michelangelo Cerruti depicting the crucifixion of Saint Peter, highlighted with white, with a rounded cut at the top.
6145-45663390
Sense taste; Five senses. Woman as a personification of sense taste sitting in landscape with vases full of fruit and vegetables, she eats from an apple while a monkey and rabbit also eat. The fall of Adam and EVA is shown in the background. In margin among two Latin lines.
6145-30131555
Juno en de Furiën bij de poort van de Hades; Iunonis ad Furias alloquium; Metamorphoseon sive transformationum; Metamorfosen van Ovidius.Juno stands with her peacock for the gate of the Hades and asks the Furiën to crazy. Title in Latin in undermarge.
4443-73260677
Venice, Bertelli, Orazio, Italy, Carracci, Agostino, Christ, Mary, John the Baptist and the apostles, Matthew, Andrew and John, verso - stamped, Sheet with three representations of the apostles Matthew with a book, Andrew with a cross and John with a chalice., print, prent, prints, height 106 mm, width 189 mm, Italian, 1557 - 1602-03-22, print maker, printmaker, 1583 - 1583, paper, papier, engraving, engraving (printing process), Publication (Event), Publication, publisher, uitgever
4409-17447807
Centaur with Branches. Dimensions: overall (approximate): 32.9 x 44 cm (12 15/16 x 17 5/16 in.). Medium: pen and brown ink on wove paper. Museum: National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. Author: Alphonse Legros.
4409-17373750
Allegorical Figures: Force, Hercules Strangling the Hydra, Plenty, and Fame. Artist: Bernardino Rodriguez ("Bernardino Siciliano") (Italian, documented () Sicily 1600-1650). Dimensions: 4-1/4 x 5-13/16 in. (10.8 x 14.7 cm). Date: 1600-1650. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.
6145-59481336
Eva mourns death for Abel, 1643 print Adam and Eva find the corpse of their son Abel in the place of sacrifice. He was killed by his brother Cain. Eva sits on her knees with him with his hands in her hair. On the left, Adam Handwringend is on a stone. At the bottom a reference to the Bible text in Gen. 4 in Latin. This print is part of an album. Amsterdam paper engraving Adam and Eve discover the dead body of Abel and grieve over it
4409-17477706
The Triumph of Marriage. Dimensions: overall: 15.7 x 20.1 cm (6 3/16 x 7 15/16 in.). Medium: pen and brown ink on laid paper. Museum: National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. Author: CLAUDE GILLOT.
6145-45760623
Winged sailor with a sik; Frisians with sea samples. ONSAGE COPY TO PRENT WITH OBJECT NUMBER RP-P-1984-439.
6145-58835360
Neptunus and his wife Amphritite, 1584 Neptunus and his wife Amphritite. Two fish have been painted on the trident of Neptunus. The ornament is a fragment of a map of Italy. The print is part of an album. Antwerp paper engraving Neptunus and his wife Amphritite. Two fish have been painted on the trident of Neptunus. The ornament is a fragment of a map of Italy. The print is part of an album. Antwerp paper engraving
4409-17444782
Cochons au Soleil (Pigs in the Sun). Dimensions: plate: 9.9 x 11.3 cm (3 7/8 x 4 7/16 in.) sheet: 15.7 x 22.5 cm (6 3/16 x 8 7/8 in.). Medium: etching, drypoint, and aquatint on laid paper. Museum: National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. Author: Félix-Hilaire Buhot.
6145-59714215
Venus mourns the death of Adonis, Luca Cambiaso, 1537 - 1585 print Venus and the three graces in the dead body of Adonis. Putti on the right in the background and the wild boar, which killed Adonis during hunting. Italy paper Venus mourning Adonis. Graces (Charites), generally three in number; 'Gratie' (Ripa). (story of) Cupid, Amor (Eros). hoofed animals: boar
4409-17389734
Annunciation. Artist: Claude Mellan (French, Abbeville 1598-1688 Paris). Dedicatee: Dedicated to Emmanuel-Théodose de La Tour d'Auvergne (French, Turenne 1643-1715 Rome). Dimensions: sheet: 15 3/4 x 18 11/16 in. (40 x 47.5 cm). Date: 1666. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.
6145-59610792
Orlando in fight with the soldiers of Cimosco, Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki, 1771 print Canto nine from 'Ariosto Furioso'. Orlando, seated on his horse, has spent several soldiers from the army of the Friezenkoning Cimosco. Numbered in the bottom left: 2. paper etching (scenes from) specific works of literature: Ariosto, Orlando Furioso. monsters of mixed human and animal shape; 'Mostri' (Ripa)
1788-42348
The sea monster, 1528, by Albrecht Durer (1471-1528), copper engraving.
6145-30131605
Hercules onsterfelijk gemaakt; A parente Hercules deitate honestatur; Metamorphoseon sive transformationum; Metamorfosen van Ovidius.Hercules drives a car, drawn by four horses, towards Jupiter who will make him immortal. Title in Latin in undermarge.
6145-29166850
Design for a Frieze with Acanthus Scrolls and a Child flanked by Dogs in the Center, Plate 8 from: 'Decorative friezes and foliage' (Ornamenti di fregi e fogliami) ca. 1645-50 Stefano della Bella Italian. Design for a Frieze with Acanthus Scrolls and a Child flanked by Dogs in the Center, Plate 8 from: 'Decorative friezes and foliage' (Ornamenti di fregi e fogliami) 397804
6145-29208393
Bacchanal ca. 1557 Giulio Sanuto Italian. Bacchanal 359823
4443-19606991
Revengeful Monsters, John Hamilton Mortimer, 1740-1779, British, 1780, Etching, Sheet: 16 5/16 x 10 11/16in. (41.4 x 27.2cm)
6145-50492727
Drawing, Odysseus and the Sirens; Jan van der Straet, called Stradanus (Flemish, 1523-1605); Netherlands; recto: pen and brown ink on laid paper recto verso: pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash on laid paper; 7.4 × 10.3 cm (2 15/16 × 4 1/16 in.)
4409-17461991
Nicandro and Amarilli. Dated: 1640. Dimensions: overall: 6.4 x 9 cm (2 1/2 x 3 9/16 in.). Medium: pen and brown ink with brown wash on laid paper. Museum: National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. Author: Johann Wilhelm Baur.
6145-46196343
Cadmus kills the dragon; Metamorphoses from Ovid. Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, kills the dragon-like hose that has just devoured his companions. In the undermarge a four-line explanation, in two columns, in Latin.
6145-59609044
Jakobs Droom, Jacob Bos, After Rafaël, 1530 - 1580 print A passage from the Biblical story of Jakob is depicted here (Gen. 28: 10-22). During a trip, Jakob falls asleep against a stone. He dreams about a staircase that reaches to heaven and on which angels descend. At the top of the stairs is God. He promises to protect Jakob and his descendants. paper engraving the dream of Jacob: while sleeping on the ground with a stone for pillow Jacob sees a ladder reaching from earth to heaven with angels going up and down; usually with God at the top of the ladder
6145-45645259
Diana with arrow and bow; Nouveau Livre des Dieux et Deeßes de la Marine Bouckje van Zeegoden and goddesses. Diana is on a chariot that is being pulled by two deer.
4409-17352100
Naked woman (Leda) and swan (Zeus) embrace on a river bank; two figures jump into the water at middle ground; a town and bridge in the background. Artist: Anonymous, Italian, 16th century (Italian, active Central Italy, ca. 1550-1580); or Agostino Veneziano (Agostino dei Musi) (Italian, Venice ca. 1490-after 1536 Rome); or Domenico Campagnola (Italian, Venice () 1500-1564 Padua). Dimensions: Sheet (trimmed to plate): 6 9/16 × 7 13/16 in. (16.7 × 19.9 cm). Date: early 16th century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.
6145-30192476
Eight Soldiers Engaged in Fencing Exercises Made 1536-1546 Germany. Etching in black on ivory laid paper . Virgilius Solis, the Elder
6145-29899522
Hymenée or tribute to Venus (Dutuit 165, Volume I, 2nd part, p. 187) Anonymous. Hymenée or tribute to Venus. Printed nielle. 15th century. Museum of Fine Arts of the city of Paris, small palace.
6145-30131517
Creation of the world; Orbis fabrica; Metamorphoseon Sive Transformationum; Metamorphoses from Ovid. The creation of the world. God is on a cloud and separates the land of the sea and the light of darkness. Title in Latin in undermarge. Number 1 escorted in the bottom left corner.
6145-46000339
Fire; The four elements. A sleeping child is in a fire with a cooking pot on it. There is a bellows and a pliers on his feet. Fire broke out behind him.
6145-59236818
Herbs and tuber crops on Java, 1596, 1646 print Herbs and tuber crops on Java, 1596. Prints of the worked records for the original illustrations in the travelogue of the first Schipvaert of Cornelis de Houtman to the East Indies in 1595-1597. No. 37. Northern Netherlands paper etching / engraving exploration, expedition, voyage of discovery. landscapes in tropical and sub-tropical regions. plants; vegetation Java
6145-29133184
Adam and Eve Placed in the Garden of Eden. Antonio Tempesta (Italy, Florence, 1555-1630). Italy, 16th century. Prints; etchings. Etching
4220-21888305
La Fossette aux Noyaux: a game in which small stones (possibly plumstones) are thrown, in an attempt to get them into a small hole in the ground Date: 1657
6145-59570670
Study sheet with drawing examples: heads, torso and animals, 1610 - 1672 print Twelfth print from a series of drawing examples of unknown size. Study magazine with a portrait of Lucas van Leyden, in the top left, in addition to a second portrait of a man. Torso left. At the top right head Maria Magdalena. In addition, a morore head. In the middle the head of a growling dog. Below that a roaring lion. Around it animals: a flying eagle with a sheep in the legs, a hop, a squirrel, a shell of hermit creeps, a hare with horns, a bird of prey and a squirrel. Some of the figures are numbered with pen 21-29. These figures are repeated in the margin. paper engraving model-books ~ implements of painter. head (human). chest, bust. predatory birds. rodents: hare - FF - fabulous animals (sometimes wrongly called 'grotesques'); 'Mostri' (Ripa). crustaceans: lobster. other birds: hoopoe. rodents: squirrel. sheep. beasts of prey, predatory animals: lion. dog. Africans
6145-45833309
David's army switches off the chariots and the foot of King Hadadzer. A soldier from David's army beats a man from Hadadzer's army, king of Soba. In the background the fallen horses are the tendons whose tendons were cut to disable the chariots. In the margin above the image, the text II REGVM VIII is 2 Samuel 8.