Primo Mobile (Prime Mover)

c. 1465

Master of the E-Series Tarocchi

Associated Names
Master of the E-Series Tarocchi

Artist, Ferrarese, active c. 1465

This is a drawing of an angelic figure holding a circular object. The artwork depicts a celestial being with wings holding a large empty circle or sphere. The figure appears to be kneeling in mid-air, with flowing robes that drape around its form. The wings are detailed and feathered, and the being has long, wavy hair. The border around the drawing and the inscription "PRIMO MOBILE" along with Roman numerals suggest a connection to celestial themes or cosmological elements.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving with traces of gilding

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 17.9 x 10 cm (7 1/16 x 3 15/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1969.6.22

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Hind 'Engravings', Vol. 1, p.240, no. 49, State a

Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1973

  • Prints of the Italian Renaissance, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1973, no. 147.

Bibliography

1938

  • Hind, Arthur M. Early Italian Engraving; a critical catalogue with complete reproductions of all the prints described. 7 vols. London: Bernard Quaritch Ltd., 1938-1948.

1973

  • Levenson et al. 1973, no.65.

1996

  • Hults, Linda C. The Print in the Western World. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1996, 145; fig. 3.10, 146.

Wikidata ID

Q65511250

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