Faun Attacking a Snake
Andrea Mantegna
1495–1505
- Medium
- Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
- Dimensions
- 29.2 × 18.3 cm (11 1/2 × 7 1/4 in.)
- Genre
- Engravings
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Tags
engravingprintprints and drawingpaper (fiber product)
About
This engraving reproduces a pen-and-ink drawing by Andrea Mantegna, now preserved in the British Museum and dated to the period 1480/85. Because of the inscription, the subject has at times been identified as Hercules slaying the Hydra, but the pointed ears of the figure identify him as a faun. The inscription may actually refer to Ercole d'Este, Duke of Ferrara.
