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The Golden Age

Joachim Wtewael Netherlandish
1605
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 640
The Utrecht painter Wtewael was among the most sophisticated of Netherlandish Mannerists, as is evident from this exquisite painting on copper intended for a well-read collector. The subject is taken from the opening pages of the classical author Ovid’s Metamorphoses (8 CE), which describe a time before the ages of silver, bronze, and iron when “spring was everlasting . . . streams of sweet nectar flowed,” and mankind, “without a law,” did right and lived contentedly.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Golden Age
  • Artist: Joachim Wtewael (Netherlandish, Utrecht 1566–1638 Utrecht)
  • Date: 1605
  • Medium: Oil on copper
  • Dimensions: 8 7/8 x 12 in. (22.5 x 30.5 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, The Edward Joseph Gallagher III Memorial Collection, Edward J. Gallagher Jr. Bequest; Lila Acheson Wallace Gift; special funds; and Gift of George Blumenthal, Bequest of Lillian S. Timken, The Collection of Giovanni P. Morosini, presented by his daughter Giulia, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Spear Jr., Gift of Mrs. William M. Haupt, from the collection of Mrs. James B. Haggin, special funds, gifts, and bequests, by exchange, 1993
  • Object Number: 1993.333
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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