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The Tame Magpie

ca. 1707–8
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 643
Magnasco’s exuberant technique and fantastical subject matter set him apart from his contemporaries. Among picturesque ruins, people from the fringes of society gather to watch the spectacle of a man trying to teach a magpie to sing—an impossible task. This highly theatrical painting was probably executed while Magnasco was working for the Medici family in Florence, a time when he shared preferences in palette and technique with the artist Sebastiano Ricci. Though this is a finished painting, the light touch was inspired by an appreciation of a sketch-like aesthetic in the circles of both artists and collectors.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Tame Magpie
  • Artist: Alessandro Magnasco (Italian, Genoa 1667–1749 Genoa)
  • Date: ca. 1707–8
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 25 x 29 1/2 in. (63.5 x 74.9 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Katherine D. W. Glover Gift, 1984
  • Object Number: 1984.191
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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A Shepherd Addressing a Seated Male Nude, Alessandro Magnasco Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, highlighted with white gouache, over black chalk, on blue paper
A Shepherd Addressing a Seated Male Nude
Alessandro Magnasco
n.d.
Standing Pilgrim Friar, Alessandro Magnasco Italian, Brush and brown wash, highlighted with white gouache, on light tan paper
Standing Pilgrim Friar
Alessandro Magnasco
ca. 1705–20
Elijah Visited by an Angel in the Wilderness (1 Kings 19:4-8), Alessandro Magnasco Italian, Brush and brown wash, highlighted with white, over traces of black chalk, on light brown paper
Elijah Visited by an Angel in the Wilderness (1 Kings 19:4-8)
Alessandro Magnasco
1687–1749
Nuns at Work, Alessandro Magnasco Italian, Oil on canvas
Nuns at Work
Alessandro Magnasco
Saint Francis, Federico Barocci Italian, Oil on canvas
Saint Francis
Federico Barocci
ca. 1600–1604

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