Fanciful Costumes: Costume of the Astrologer (c. 1690): Art, History and Details

Fanciful Costumes: Costume of the Astrologer (c. 1690) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Nicolas de Larmessin II (French, 1638–1694).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

These two prints are from a series of about 70 fanciful portrayals of various trades and skills. The astrologer is decorated with the twelve astrological signs arranged in order, while the helmet of the fireworks maker appears to spray its own tuft of pyrotechnics into the sky. The astrologer also stands before a building labeled as an observatory, a telescope on its roof, and the costume of the fireworks maker resembles protective armor.

Object facts

• Title: Fanciful Costumes: Costume of the Astrologer
• Date: c. 1690
• Creator attribution: Nicolas de Larmessin II (French, 1638–1694)
• Culture: France
• Type: Print
• Technique: etching and engraving
• Dimensions: Sheet: 31.7 x 21.6 cm (12 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.); Platemark: 28.7 x 19.7 cm (11 5/16 x 7 3/4 in.)
• Collection: PR - Etching
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 2001.13

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.