From 21 February, the City History Department of the Museum of Ceramics at ul. Kutuzowa will host the exhibition “Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Ancient Mythology in 17th-Century European Prints from the Collection of the Museum in Nysa,” featuring 35 prints by Francis Cleyn, Salomon Savery and Hendrik Goltzius. They illustrate one of the most extraordinary literary works in the world—“Metamorphoses” by the Roman poet Ovid.
Particular attention should be paid to Goltzius’s copperplate engravings displayed in the Museum’s larger exhibition room. He is considered the finest European printmaker of the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. His vision of the mythical world of “Metamorphoses” was largely inspired by observations of ancient buildings and sculptures. The prints are characterised by a complex Mannerist composition, as well as the expressiveness and creative freedom typical of this style.
In the smaller exhibition room of the Bolesławiec Museum, visitors can see illustrations for the 1637 Paris edition of “Metamorphoses,” created jointly by Cleyn and Savery. The former designed the illustration cartoons, while Savery was responsible for the engraving.
The world depicted in the prints by these artists is both beautiful and frightening. The City History Department of the Museum of Ceramics is open to visitors from Tuesday to Saturday (10:00–16:00), and on Sundays from 11:00 to 16:00.
(information: Museum of Ceramics/ii)