Creusa and Ascanius trying to stop Aeneas from leaving (Si periturus abis, et nos rape in omnia tcum)
1663
This dramatic engraving captures a heartbreaking moment from Virgil's Aeneid, where the Trojan hero Aeneas, clad in full armor and ready to rush back into the burning city, is physically restrained by his desperate family. His wife Creusa kneels to clutch his leg while their young son Ascanius reaches out, echoing the Latin inscription at the bottom: 'If you go to perish, take us with you.' Although Giuseppe Maria Mitelli carved this print in 1663, the inscription 'Carac. Inv.' reveals the composition was originally designed by the legendary Annibale Carracci, showing how Baroque printmakers kept master drawings alive for new audiences.
- Technique
- engraving
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