Melchior Meier (att. 1572–1582), inc. Monogrammist MF - Apollon et Marsyas (et le Jugement de Midas)

Apollo and Marsyas and the Judgment of Midas around 1577/1582
Reversed engraving after Melchior Meier (Hollstein 7) - A watermark "Trident" is visible through transparency.
An exceptional and very rare engraving in which the elements of two myths told in Ovid's Metamorphoses fuse together, the musical dispute between Apollo and Marsyas and the Judgment of Midas, interpreted as an allegory of the Medici family’s openness in the face of the Church’s obtuseness.
Work by the Monogramist MF, it reprises the original inaccessible work by Melchior Meier, a Swiss-German engraver active in Italy between 1577 and 1582, who had produced it and dedicated it to Francesco I de’ Medici in 1581.
At the top, the tablet suspended in the tree with the monogram “MF” indicates the wrong date “1536,” although it is certainly slightly later than Meier’s.

Apollo in the center, holding a skinning knife in his left hand and Marsyas’ skin in his right hand; the flayed Marsyas hanging from a tree on the right; Midas kneeling on the left with donkey ears; satyrs and soldiers in the background.

The print offered here at auction is a later engraving on parchment-like paper, probably from the 18th century.
Dimensions: 23.20 x 31.30 cm

A crisp black impression without stains or creases. The margins sometimes show ink defects. No tears. An application of old tape on the back is visible only through transparency.
Literature:
Hollstein / Gravures, etchings and German engravings around 1400-1700 (7.II) ----- Nagler, 'Monogrammisten', IV, no. 1802.

Secure and insured shipping at purchase value