Sight (Visus), from "Quinque Sensuum"

ca. 1655

Not on view

Horizontal panel with the personification of Visus (Sight) shown as a female figure looking at herself in a mirror, under an arch formed from strapwork and garland at center. Around the arch, inhabited scrollwork and putti, including a putto riding an eagle at upper left, one with glasses at lower left, and another with a spyglass at upper right. The series, consisting of a title and five plates with the senses personified by female figures, is titled 'Quinque sensuum descriptio, in eo picturae genere quod (Grottesche) vocant Itali' (Description of the Five Senses in that kind of painting that the Italians call grotesque). This set belongs to the 3rd edition, published in London by Robert Walton after 1646 (ca. 1655). An inscription on the title plate (45.101.1) credits Walton as the publisher ('SOULD BY RO: WALTON), but there are visible traces of the name and address of the publisher of previous editions.

Artwork Details

Title: Sight (Visus), from "Quinque Sensuum"
Series/Portfolio: Quinque Sensuum
Artist: Franz Cleyn (German, Rostock 1582–1658 London)
Publisher: Robert Walton
Date: ca. 1655
Medium: Engraving
Dimensions: Sheet: 3 3/4 × 7 15/16 in. (9.5 × 20.2 cm)
Classifications: Prints, Ornament & Architecture
Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1945
Object Number: 45.101.5
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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The Sack of Troy: Pyrrhus Killing Priam, Franz Cleyn German, Black chalk and gray wash; incised for transfer; framing lines in graphite; verso treated with red chalk for transfer — The Sack of Troy: Pyrrhus Killing Priam
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