Ruggiero Rescuing Angelica (1565, Met-Objekt 2182)
Original title: Ruggiero Rescuing Angelica
kurzbeschreibung
This 1565 engraving by Cornelis Cort tells how the knight Ruggiero rescues the naked Angelica from a dragon. Cort worked the mythological episode into a finely nuanced print, complete with a richly articulated landscape and a restless sky.
Description
In the foreground an unclothed woman rests on a rock, left exposed to a dragon; beside her a vessel stands on a pedestal. Beyond, a city with a castle and bridge spreads out, and above it a hovering figure battles the dragon. Smoke and clouds fill the sky, while trees, rocks and a ruin on a rise frame the view. The layout feels balanced, the woman in front and the city behind answering one another, and the monochrome print sets up a strong contrast of light and shadow.
Context
Cornelis Cort, a Dutch engraver, was active in Italy in the mid-sixteenth century and known for his reproductive prints. The source was a tale from Ludovico Ariosto's verse epic Orlando Furioso, widely read in the 1500s. Cort probably made this engraving after a painting or drawing by another artist, since he often reproduced works by Italian masters.
Impact
Precise execution and dramatic chiaroscuro give the episode theatrical tension. The balanced arrangement draws the eye to the endangered woman and to the rescuer from on high, bringing the story vividly before the viewer.
Technique
For this engraving the lines were cut into a copper plate with a burin. That allows fine hatching and exact detail, visible in the landscape and the figures. Printing in black on paper produces the monochrome effect.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)