Plate 6: Emperor Nero on Horseback, from "The First Twelve Roman Caesa

An engraved print shows a laureled, bare-chested rider in a draped cloak mounted on a rearing horse with an ornate plumed headdress and a decorated saddle cloth. Behind them a city burns under swirling clouds, and the caption NERO. AVGVSTVS runs along the bottom edge.

Look closer: A small burning city with a tiny amphitheater-like building sits in the lower left landscape.

Artist

Matthäus Merian the Elder

Date

1610–50

Medium

Etching and engraving

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

2817 × 3622 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951