Artist: Matthaeus Merian (German, 1593-1650).
Title: Commodus is strangled by Narcissus.
Dimensions: Sheet 4 1/2" x 6 1/4".
Publisher: Wolffgang Hoffmanns Buch-Druckerey.
Edition: Johann Ludwig Gottfried, (German, 1584-1633). Historische Chronica. Frankfurt, Wolffgang Hoffmann, 1657. p. 347.
Date: 1657.
Materials and Techniques: etching on laid paper. Text printed verso, as issued.
Provenance: The Estate of George "Yorgo" Demetrakopoulos; professor, assistant director of the Medieval Institute, and assistant to the dean at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, from 1965-2000.
Condition: The signs of aging are appropriate for the time. A detailed condition report is available on demand.
Art Movements, Periods & Schools: German School XVII C.
Note: The emperor Commodus was strangled in his bath by Narcissus, a wrestler who was tasked with the deed by a small group of conspirators.