Bernard Picart (1673-1733) - Salmacis e Hermaphrodite - Originale

This work by Bernard Picart illustrates the mythological scene of the encounter between Hermaphroditus and Salmacis.

Hermaphrodite, young and very handsome, stops to bathe in a spring inhabited by the nymph Salmace.
The nymph falls hopelessly in love with him and tries to seduce him, but the young man, embarrassed, rejects her.
While Hermaphroditus is naked in the water, Salmace dives in and embraces him, praying to the gods that they may never be separated again.
The gods grant his request, fusing the two bodies into one, creating a figure that possesses both masculine and feminine characteristics, an androgynous being.

The work is part of his famous series 'The Temple of the Muses' and is based on an episode from Ovid's Metamorphoses.
1733
Signed on both of the two slabs and dated 1731 on the outer one.

Picart Bernard: engraver
Van Diepenbeeck Abraham (before 1596/1675): designer

The engraving is titled in French, English, German, and Dutch.
Printed with two plates.

From the classic print portfolio of Picart, The Temple of the Muses, a collection of sixty plates designed and engraved by Bernard Picart. (The artist also created the ornamental borders, engraved separately, that surround each image.)
Of course, the work of creating these large and complex works of art was very time-consuming, and the entire project took three years to complete. The complete series was published in Amsterdam by Chatelain in 1733, the year of Bernard Picart's death.

The work is an original etching.
Impressed on a lightly creased letter in excellent condition with good margins, recently watercolor-painted.

Bernard Picart (1673–1733) was a French engraver and illustrator best known for his book illustrations, including the Bible and Ovid.
Picart lived and worked in Amsterdam, and he was a converted Huguenot.