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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2006.290
People
Unidentified Artist
After Cornelis Cort, Netherlandish (Hoorn, Netherlands 1533 - 1578 Rome, Italy)
After Frans Floris, Netherlandish (Antwerp 1519/20 - 1570 Antwerp)
Title
Musica
Other Titles
Series/Book Title: Seven Liberal Arts
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
after 1565
Culture
Italian?
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/317745

Physical Descriptions

Technique
Engraving
Dimensions
plate: 22.4 x 27.9 cm (8 13/16 x 11 in.)
sheet: 22.6 x 28.5 cm (8 7/8 x 11 1/4 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Signed: l.l. margin; In Bologna F Josefo Longhi sotto le scole all' Insegna di s. Paolo
  • inscription: verso, c.; graphite: Large numbers down center of print; difficult to read as the print is tipped down at the corners.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Acquisition Fund for Prints
Accession Year
2006
Object Number
2006.290
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Commentary
Around 1556 Frans Floris painted a cycle of the Seven Liberal Arts for Nicolaas Jongelinck, the wealthy Antwerp trader and toll collector who commissioned Bruegel's Seasons. In 1565, Cornelis Cort produced highly popular engravings after Floris's cycle. This print appears to be an engraving after Cort's engraving of Musica. It differs from Cort in several ways, particularly in the title MVSICA and detailed floral pattern on the clavier, which appear in Cort's engraving, but do not appear in this print. The inscription indicates Italian publishing: "In Bologna Josefo Longhi below the stairs at the sign of S. Paolo." This inscription does not appear in any of the Floris catalogues or Hollstein. Niccolò Nelli also published a copy of the series in Venice. This print, however, is unnumbered and further deemphasizes the work's relationship to the set by removing the title, Mvsica, from the clavier. In his Lives, Vasari recommended that Floris find himself a new engraver who could do his designs justice, which would seem to indicate he was unaware that this print was published outside of Floris's control by a Bolognese publisher. This publisher, however, was keenly aware of the desirability of Floris's art in the southern market when he decided to re-engrave Floris's composition. This print therefore represents a key document in the history of printmaking and the distribution of Northern art in Italy.

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu