Léon Davent, French, active 1540-1556- The Garden of Vertumna, after Primaticcio; etching, with inscription (on a piece of cardboard attached to the reverse), 33.5 x 31.7 cm. Note: 16th-century French printmaker Davent produced a number of etchings...

Léon Davent, French, active 1540-1556- The Garden of Vertumna, after Primaticcio; etching, with inscription (on a piece of cardboard attached to the reverse), 33.5 x 31.7 cm. Note: 16th-century French printmaker Davent produced a number of etchings and engravings over the course of his career. He has long been associated with the workshop of the Palace of Fontainebleau, and may have been taught etching by Antonio Fantuzzi. The present work is based on a fresco, no longer extant, in the Pavillion de Pomone in Fontinebleau, portraying Pomona’s Garden. Like many of his works, it is based on the designs of the Italian Mannerist artist Francesco Primaticcio, and illustrates the strong contemporary interest in depicting scenes from Classical mythology, in this case focusing on Vertumnus, the god of the seasons. Bartsch 43; Zerner 7.