An allegory of painting

A crowded etching of an allegorical scene set in a leafy forest. Robed figures gather around a central pedestal, while cherubs drift among the palms and foliage above. Reclining figures and a sprawled body fill the foreground, rendered in dense, fine hatching.

Look closer: A small putto stands near the central foreground, half hidden among the figures.

Artist

François Collignon

Date

17th century

Medium

Etching

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

3638 × 2877 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1926