The Triumph of Love, from "The Triumphs of Petrarch"

The Triumph of Love, from "The Triumphs of Petrarch"

Francesco Rosselli

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This representation of Love's conquest is based on Petrarch's 'Triumphs', a poem that had already been illustrated in manuscript illuminations, paintings, and in at least four other series of engravings. In his description of Cupid's procession, Petrarch compares the winged nude boy to a Roman victor who, bow in hand, is mounted on a chariot of fire pulled by four snow-white steeds. The poet's enumeration of Love's prisoners includes the hero Hercules—shown here carrying his column—and the philandering Jupiter, who is chained to the front of the chariot.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Triumph of Love, from "The Triumphs of Petrarch"The Triumph of Love, from "The Triumphs of Petrarch"The Triumph of Love, from "The Triumphs of Petrarch"The Triumph of Love, from "The Triumphs of Petrarch"The Triumph of Love, from "The Triumphs of Petrarch"

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.